February 28: Numbers 27-29; Psalm 49; Luke 7

Such faith and love in Luke 7.  Jesus says about the centurion: "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."  What caused him to say this (and he always seems to be saying this to 'outsiders,' supposed non-believers)?  What did the man do that exhibited so much faith?

First, he honored Jesus by not making him come into his Gentile home; this was considered an unclean act.  Second, he recognized that Jesus was one to be obeyed: "But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed."  Third, he acted on this belief; he sent for and asked for Jesus.  Faith:  acting on one's belief.

And love, have you ever imagined such love?  This woman, this sinner, who in this society should only be expected to be condemned, she comes to this Jesus; she kneels before him.  And lovingly, so lovingly, she does what no one has thought to do: she anoints him.  Can't you just see the tender care she takes as she washes and dries his feet....as she kisses and anoints them?  This is love---to act with abandon for the good and the benefit of the other.

Such faith and love in today's Good News.  Let's go and do the same.

February 27: Numbers 24-26; Psalm 48; Luke 6

Let me share something from Yann Martel's Life of Pi that I think reflects a gospel truth from Luke 6:

"There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence were something weak and helpless.  These people walk by a widow deformed by leprosy begging for a few paise [pennies], walk by children dressed in rags living in the street, and they think, 'Business as usual.'  But if they perceive a slight against God, it is a different story.  Their faces go red, their chests heave mightily, they sputter angry words.  The degree of their indignation is astonishing.  Their resolve is frightening.  

These people fail to realize that it is on the inside that God must be defended, not on the outside.  They should direct their anger at themselves.  For evil in the open is but evil from within that has been let out.  The main battlefield for good is not the open ground of the public arena but the small clearing of each heart." (pp. 70-71)

February 26: Numbers 21-23; Psalm 47; Luke 5

No matter how many times I read about Balaam and the donkey, I laugh and cry.  Laugh because the story is so outrageous in so many ways.  Cry because I still do the exact same thing:  I miss God right in front of me; I miss all the signs; I am so certain of my route forward that I get in my own way!  And why, when we are angry, do we so often strike out at the most vulnerable being in our presence?

What I love about Luke 5 is that Jesus gets into Simon's boat.  This is exactly what Jesus does.  Not only does Jesus say, Come follow me, but sometimes Jesus gets into our boat---meets us on our own terms.  Goes the distance with us.  Especially in those times we are uncertain and anxious.  Jesus meets our great expectations, but often in ways we can not imagine or fathom.

February 25: Numbers 18-20; Psalm 46; Luke 4

In Luke today we have one of several healings in the Gospel of those who have demons inside of them.  When I was younger, I used to think that none of these stories applied to me; after all, I am not "crazy." I don't have demons inside me.

A demon can be defined as an "evil passion or influence."  So, okay, I have demons inside me: anger, vengeance, jealousy, the desire to hurt someone who has hurt me, the desire to make someone seem less than me so I can feel better about myself, a lack of compassion, the ability to see someone as less than human.  We all have demons.

So, how wonderful this Good News is for us.  These demons are the baggage we carry around; they often make us feel guilty and ashamed.  They separate us from God and others; they dim the divine image within us.  Jesus can set us free from these demons.  We don't have to live with them; we can be rid of them.  Praise be to God.

Enoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

February 23: Numbers 15-17; Psalm 45; Luke 3

Today's reflection comes from Tom (N.T.)Wright's book: Luke for Everyone

Our "fruit must show that repentance has been genuine.  The warning echoes down the years, and must be taken to heart by all the baptized today.  We cannot presume that because we have shared in the great Christian mystery, the new Exodus, coming through the water of baptism with all that it means, God will automatically be happy with us even if we show no signs of serious repentance.  Of course, Christian living is far more than simply repentance, but it is not less.  All spiritual advance begins with a turning away from what is hindering our obedience.  If John were to come down your street with a megaphone, what would he be saying?" (page 34)

February 22: Numbers 12-14; Psalm 44; Luke 2

Moses reminds God of God's very character--to be forgiving.  Yet forgiveness does not wipe away all the consequences of what we have done.  Forgiveness is about repairing and rebuilding relationships.  Reparation and penitence is another matter and we should expect the need to redress our wrongs by making things right.  Our choices always have consequences.

February 21: Numbers 9-11; Psalm 43; Luke 1

This first chapter of Luke is the story of women, Mary and Elizabeth.  Okay, it's the story of God moving and acting in these women's lives.  Elizabeth who was barren, empty---through the initiative of God---becomes full and bears a child.  New life and new creation from what was once barren and empty.

And Mary.  Everyone knows Mary.  Some adore her.  Most admire her or revere her.  We have put Mary on a pedastal.  I don't think Mary belongs "up there"---beyond our reach.  For we are called to be Mary---to do exactly as she did.  To live our lives and then when God calls to us, when God asks us to be his agents, we too are to say: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."  We are to birth Christ into the world---to be a Theotokos, a God-bearer.  Mary's story is our story.  She is not out of reach, something more than we could ever be.  Here in Luke 1, she is what we are to be.

February 20: Numbers 6-8; Psalm 42; Mark 16

Today we have a little something from each of the readings.
Numbers is a hard book to slog through, but here, at the end of Chapter 6 is a gem; I hope you didn't miss it.
         The LORD bless you and keep you;
         The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
         The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. (24-26)
In Hebrew, these verses build on one another; in length and in meaning.  To bless is to grant gifts for the benefit of the other and "to keep" is to guard and protect---dealing with safety.
How is one blessed and kept by the LORD?  the LORD comes close in order to be known by the person and the LORD's grace flows to the person (undeserved gifts).  How exactly?  The LORD moves toward the person (initiates the action and takes steps in our direction) in order to grant wholeness and wellness, shalom.  What an incredibly beautiful promise.

The raw emotion in Psalm 42 is something most of us have felt: a longing to know God's presence.  I would wager that most of us have had those times in our lives when we have wondered: where is God? We have felt that God seems to be completely missing---our prayers feel dry and empty; worship does not bring us joy; we are drained.  The psalmist gives us the key to our response in these valleys of our lives: "Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God." (v. 11).

The original text of the Gospel of Mark ends at verse 8.  Later two different endings (the shorter and the longer) were added.  Obviously some felt the gospel wasn't complete.  (remember Mark came first, so perhaps after the other Gospels were read and heard, some thought Mark needed expansion---no one knows for certain).  However, Mark 16:8 is a perfect ending of the story.  Because the narrative from this point on (the realization of the resurrection) is meant to be moved forward by believers, by witnesses.  How will you move Jesus' reconciling ministry forward today?

February 19: Numbers 4-5; Psalm 41; Mark 15

". . . and the priest shall apply the entire law to her."  A husband becomes jealous---possibly for no good reason---and according to this law the wife has to prove his jealousy is unfounded.  The man has no responsibility or obligation or actions to take---even if his jealousy is unfounded.  This imbalance in human covenanted partnership is not what God had planned in Genesis: "It is not good that the human should be alone; I will make him a helper as a partner."  The Hebrew words used here for helper and partner are not words of subservience.  It seems mankind's systems of living, including patriarchy, are what skew God's design for humanity to live together.  Jesus also proclaims that these systems for covenanted relationships are unbalanced.  In Matthew 19, Jesus says it is our hardness of heart that has thrown God's plans out of whack.  Jesus puts the emphasis on the husband's obligations here, perhaps in hopes to put some balance back into the partnership God had in mind.

In Mark 15, the people scoff at Jesus: "you who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days...." "He saved others; he cannot save himself."  One can hear the jeering and the laughing.  When we demand that we are in control, then we, by our actions and words, are also scoffing at the saving and healing power of Jesus.  We deny his lordship each time we fail to trust our identity and future to Him.  Part of the Lenten journey is to hear these stories and discern where we are in them.  Too often we look at them from the outside, saddened by what others did to Jesus.  Where is our part in this?

February 18: Numbers 1-3: Psalm 40; Mark 14

In today's Psalm, we see our Lenten journey.
*"Wait patiently upon the LORD:" find time to rest in God's presence.
*"Put a new song in my mouth:" Lent is about renewal and restoratin---expect re-creation.
*"I love to do your will, O my God:" this is a time to make note of how closely we align to Jesus.   Where do we need to make corrections?  Where are we on target?
*"You are the LORD:" Lent is about recognizing and trying to live the truth: God is God, and I am not.
*"Let all those who seek you:"  This is a time to be intentional---especially about seeking God.

In Mark, we have the beginning of the Passion.When the high priest is questioning Jesus, don't you wonder why he is so outraged about Jesus' answer to his question: Are you the Messiah?  After hearing about and seeing the evidence Jesus has displayed about his power to heal, forgive, and change people, one would think that maybe, just maybe, the high priest might take the time to consider if Jesus was telling the truth.  But, the high priest does what so many of us do.  In his mind, the high priest already knew what the Messiah was going to be like-----and it certainly wasn't this Jesus.  How often do we miss the answer to our prayers, even when they are right in front of us, because we are so certain we know what the answer will look like?

February 17: Enjoy hearing the Scriptures read aloud in church

February 16: Psalm 39; Mark 13

"We walk about like a shadow, and in vain we are in turmoil; we heap up riches and cannot tell who will gather them." (Psalm 39:7)

"Do you see these great buildings?  Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down." (Mark 13:2)

Our focus is on the wrong things.  We store up, for ourselves, goods and items in our storehouses.  We build up things and pile up our accomplishments and store away our wealth....as if our salvation comes from consumption and achievement.

"And now, what is my hope?  O Lord, my hope is in you." (Psalm 37:8)

February 15: Leviticus 25-27; Psalm 38; Mark 12

Part of this morning's readings, Leviticus 25, includes the 'Year of Jubilee'--a concept humanity has never really been able to fully embrace.  This idea sets up for the human race a way of sharing God's abundance so that no one party ever possesses so much that another is left without enough.  This  reveals God's plan that we are to live communally---we are to see one another as connected to us----we are to recognize that we are responsible for one another's wellness and wholeness.

In Mark 12 this morning, I hear our struggle to recognize that everything we have is God's---that all comes from God.  This is such an obstacle for us.  We have been trained and formed to believe that if we work at something or for something---our labor makes it solely our own and we are justified to completely retain for ourselves whatever fruits come from our work.  Here is where Mark 12 and Leviticus 25 can speak to one another.  How might we understand the Year of Jubilee when we consider the fruits of our own labor?  How might we begin to recognize that we are stewards of God's vineyards and not the owner?  We have been granted these gifts so that we might sow and reap in order to be fed, yes, but also to feed others.  To feed others physically, spiritually, mentally.....in food, in mercy, in compassion, and whatever else might be needed for shalom---peace---wholeness.  This Lent, let us consider how we might live the "Year of Jubilee" out in our own lives.

February 14: Leviticus 22-24; Psalm 37:19-42; Mark 11

What do we do with the Old Testament when God seems to be commanding death? (Leviticus 24:14)  And then, when there are two verses, back to back, that conflict? "Aliens as wells as citizens, when they blaspheme the Name, shall be put to death.  Anyone who kills a human being shall be put to death." (24:16-17)

Scripture is the writings of a people who are responding to God's acting in their world.  In Leviticus, we have a people who are trying to faithfully live out the 10 commandments by spelling out the specifics of what it means to live the Law.  Therefore, to fail to keep the first three commandments (Only one God, no idols, do not take the Lord's name in vain), must have serious consequences.  And here, we see the scribes of the Law take a very human way forward: Inspire people to keep the Law through fear.  shall be put to death.  And yet, the recognition that another law is: thou shalt not kill.  The question we have to ask ourselves today as we wrestle with this, since we have been granted the gift of the New Testament and the New Covenant through Christ, how does this spelling out of the Law in Leviticus fit with the entirety of Scripture?  After all, if humanity had it right, why then the reframing of the covenant through Christ?  Hmmm, no answers; simply food for thought.

Mark 11: Jesus sees a fig tree in leaf.  Since the fig tree was in leaf, Jesus expected there to be fruit.

Sarah needs some help.  She thought she had everything figured out, but she is not able to buy one of her important medications.  She doesn't know what to do.  A few months ago, a woman at work, Liz, was talking to her about her church: how wonderful it was, how friendly, Sarah should come.    Sarah thinks to herself: "Didn't Jesus say whatever you do for the least of these?  I'm certainly one of the least of these."  Sarah doesn't want to ask Liz, whom she doesn't know very well, for help; but, she doesn't know what else to do.  She doesn't know where to turn.

Almost unable to look her in the eye, Sarah explains to Liz her dilemma.  Liz is stunned.  She tells Sarah, "I barely know you.  You are asking a great deal from me.  I'm sorry, I can't help you.  Isn't there welfare or something?  I can't believe you asked me for that kind of money."

When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves. . . . 

February 13: Leviticus 19-21; Psalm 37:1-18; Mark 10

So much in today's readings.  "Commit your way to the LORD." (Psalm 37:5)  In Leviticus 19, this is all about how to love our neighbor.  Including the aged and the foreigner.  So often we miss that this culture, and Scripture, sets up a social security for its people; the fields were not allowed to edge up against one another.  Why?  If they did, each field wouldn't have edges, and it is the edges from which those who could not provide for themselves were able to glean.  (We might call these "entitlements" today.) In this culture, everyone was to be provided with food to eat.  God reminds these people that they too, in Egypt, were the "other," the "foreigner," the poor and defenseless.  Love your neighbor as your self.

In Mark 10, it is still about how to love our neighbor. In marriage, in society, within the followers of Jesus.  Jesus's focus in marriage is on the equality of marriage intended in the Creation stories.  That both parties enter into a covenant of sacrificial love.  Jesus dismisses the view of marriage in this patriarchal society where a man can simply leave the woman, leaving her without shelter and securty.  Furthermore, Jesus declares that those with the lowest status in this society, the children, belong in the Kingdom of God.  Jesus reminds us that while we think we keep God's ways, if we are clutching possessions and making life choices in order to keep them or secure them at the cost of others, we are living outside God's ways.  And Jesus reminds his followers, reminds us, that in God's Kingdom being a servant is the blessing, not being served. " . . .whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all." (10:44)

February 12: Leviticus 16-18; Psalm 36; Mark 9

Leviticus 16 is the chapter that describes how the priest, the Levite, makes "atonement" (or purification) for the people.  For us, this is no longer necessary---Christ has made "atonement" for us.  But this doesn't mean we no longer need repentance---we still need to turn and re-turn to the LORD.

Through Baptism---when we are marked as Christ's forever--we are purified---atoned---made clean.  The word "atonement" literally means, at-one-ment.  Being restored to oneness with God.  Throughout our day, we take actions, think thoughts, speak words that cause separation between us and God---we start shooing God out the door of our being.  This is where confession, or the rite of reconciliation, comes in.  When we confess these actions, thoughts, and words---when we do more than confess them but pray for the strength to turn from them and not repeat them--we are practicing repentance.  We are seeking at-one-ment---the restoration of our proper place--God dwelling in us.

We still need a way to let go of our baggage---our guilt, our shame, the recognition of our denying God---and this is precisely what confession/reconciliation allows us to do.  Whether we do it corporately in worship or privately in our own prayer life or individually in front of a confessor---this ritual allows us to begin the process of re-turning to God by declaring our wrong steps.  The priest speaks the words of absolution, not because if she doesn't we aren't forgiven, but because we need to hear them.  We need to be reminded of God's loving mercy.  These words assure us: you are cleansed, renewed, redeemed.  Now, go, live a holy life.

February 11: Leviticus 13-15; Psalm 35; Mark 8

"How can one feed these people  . . .?"  This might be a question we would ask today.  We look around at the poverty and we wonder: what can we possibly do about it?  There's so much need in the world....so many problems....so many who lack a basic necessity.  Where do we begin?

Jesus' question: "How many loaves do you have?"  The disciples' answer: "Seven."

Notice that Jesus takes all seven loaves, breaks them in order that they may be shared, and distributes.  And, once all are fed, no one can miss that there is still an abundance left over.  What might have seemed like not enough (simply seven) in the eyes of the disciples became even more than enough once it was placed into the hands of Jesus.  Given over to Jesus to decide how it should be used and distributed.

The disciples had to be willing to share their loaves---all of them in this story---and to allow them to be broken, not remain whole---in order for all to have their share, with some left over.  And yet, just after this wondrous sight----when they are in the boat with only one loaf in their hands, they still doubted God's abundance.  "Do you not yet understand?"  No, Jesus, no, we do not.

What do we withhold, unwilling for it to be broken, shared, distributed?  What is it that we cannot bear to place in Jesus' hands?  As we approach Lent, a discipline we take on could be bringing this withholding into our prayer life and allowing God's transforming presence to do God's work.

February 8: Leviticus 7-9; Psalm 33; Mark 6

"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon . . .?"

How often do we think we know all there is to know about someone...or a group of someones?
Maybe it is because of their appearance, their background, their history, their race, their sexual orientation, their political stance, their family, their job (or lack of one)----or even our own past experience with the person.

Friends, we who believe that knowing Christ transforms a person,
              we who believe in the power of the Holy Spirit,
              we who believe that God the Father is Creator of all
             
We, of all people, we need to remember that these beliefs on which we stand, these beliefs we declare as our faith, these hold true for all people----in spite of the limits our eyes, and mouths, and hearts may put on another human being.  God's steadfast love and healing power is for all.  Praise be to God!

February 7: Leviticus 4-6; Psalm 32: Mark 5

"Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven.." (Psalm 32:1)
This is us, and we are even happier because we no longer have to sacrifice bulls and goats and sheep and sprinkle their blood on the altar.  Whew!  Jesus has made the one and only-needed sacrifice that we might be freed from sin.

Do you ever wonder how that works?  I mean, Jesus made the sacrifice already, but there's still sin, so how does Jesus' sacrifice save us from sin?

"I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go." (Psalm 32:8)  First of all, we are freed from living in sin by being shown and being given a new way to live---the Jesus Way.  And yet, we still make mistakes; we are still disobedient; we still sin.

Jesus' life also shows us that through Jesus the barriers between God and man have been thrown down---knowing Jesus means knowing, and having access to, God's forgiveness.  We are born into this new life in Baptism (washed clean), and through forgiveness, we are able to be washed clean over and over.    Knowing Jesus and following Jesus changes one's life.  The more we turn to and walk in the steps of Jesus, the more we are transformed, made holy, set free.

The power of Jesus to change our lives often scares us----sometimes we even run from it..."then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood (Mark 5:17)  But we need not be afraid.  The love and healing power of Jesus will work in our lives to transform us to our true selves----sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Christ.  So, we too can go home to our friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for us.

February 5: Leviticus 1-3: Psalm 31; Mark 4

Background on Leviticus: This is a book primarily about religious ritual and law; an early Rabinnic title for it was: The Priests' Instruction (rules for the priests).  This first section (chapters 1-7) are about sacrifice.

"Blessed be the Lord! for he has shown me the wonders of his love in a besieged city." (Psalm 31:21)
This Psalm resounds with trust in God---the Psalmist rejoices in God's steadfast love.

The wonders of God's love are all around us.  They show up in people who give us love through action and words--those who support us, encourage us, walk with us in the darkness.  God's wonder shows up when we find the strength to do things we thought were beyond us; when we are granted the endurance to make it through a difficult day. God's wonder is in the sun as it rises and sets, painting the sky with beauty.  We are given the opportunity to use our talents, time, and treasure to help our brothers and sisters----allowing us understanding and vision to see how important and valuable all that we have is to others.  Using our gifts also helps us to see how rich we are---how God's plan is a plan of abundance, not paucity.  God's wonders are all around us.

Yes, the world can be ugly and stark.  It can seem hopeless and mean.  But, if we stop, and gaze---gaze lovingly through prayer, through Scripture, through worship---if we take the time to gaze on God----God's light will spark the light within us.  Our light will spark the lights of those around us (if we don't put them under a bushel basket, that is).....and the wonders of God will be the beacon of hope to all those who feel besieged.  Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

February 5: Exodus 40; Psalm 30: Mark 3

"His anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime.  Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning." Psalm 30:5

For me, this is so true.  Why is it our demons of doubt, fear, anxiety and trouble come to us at night...plucking at our mind....eating at the edges of our souls...creating whirlpools of gray and murkiness that steal our peace?

But then, after I am finally able to drag myself to sleep and wake the next morning, the demons of the night appear smaller; answers begin to appear; paths I could not find the night before break forth out of the gloom and haze of anxiety.

The same is true of anger.  It burns hot and quick at first, but if we can manage to wait...to allow time to pass....it will cool enough that we can see again with God's favor instead of our righteous wrath.  The smoke of anger will surely clear.  Can we learn to hold off on our actions and words instead of reacting and responding in the heat of the moment?  Can we remember that to divide ourself from another is to divide the Body of Christ----to break apart that which God desires to be a whole.  Peace---shalom---means wholeness.  "If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand."

February 4: Exodus 37-39; Psalm 29; Mark 2

"And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples. . . " (Mark 2:15)

Reading this verse this morning reminded me that when our daughter was younger (an early teen), a well-intentioned camp counselor, who kept in contact with our daughter, advised her to not hang out with kids who didn't go to church or didn't know Jesus.  The adult advised our teen daughter to keep her circle of friends to only Christians.  When our daughter came to me, she was confused.  She knew Jesus hung out with all kinds of people so that all kinds of people could know and see God.  I was so proud that she could see that part of our call as Christians is not to judge who is worthy of God's presence versus who is unworthy.  All are worthy.

As the Body of Christ, we need remember---especially at Holy Communion---that all are invited to sit down with Jesus---this is right where we all belong.  Jesus with his disciples; Jesus with the outcast and impure----those two, very often, being one and the same thing.

Come Holy Spirit: help us to remember that we can be vessels of your grace or barriers to your grace.  Empower us to be your vessels.  Amen.

February 3: Enjoy hearing the Sciptures read aloud in church

February 2: Exodus 34-36; Psalm 28; Mark 1

" . . . yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parent upon the children and the children's children..." (Exodus 34:7)
Really?  What happened to God removing our sins...as far as the east is from the West?

Jump to Mark 1: John proclaims a baptism of repentence for the forgiveness of sins.....okay, good, but keep reading.  John promises the One who is coming (Jesus) is greater than he because Jesus provides a baptism with the Holy Spirit.---Ah, here's the addition.  Not only are we cleansed and forgiven, but we are infused with the Spirit, the divine.  The New Covenant is embodied in Jesus---humanity infused with the divine--when we are baptized, we are infused with the divine.  Empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in a new way.

Jesus declares: the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.  Believing in the Good News is not a mental status; it is living out this new way.  And we see this right away in this first chapter of Mark--person after person who is freed; released from that which makes us not our true selves---person after person cleansed, restored, made whole.  God giving us true peace--shalom--wholeness---infused with the divine.

This new Way not only cleanses us, but by living it, we are empowered so that we might be freed from that which shackles us.

February 1: Exodus 31-33; Psalm 27; Matthew 28

"You shall keep the sabbath, because it is holy for you; everyone who profanes it shall be put to death; whoever does any work on it shall be cut off from among the people." (Exodus 31:14)

We may think that this is a bit outrageous, and we may even think to ourselves: "And, obviously, not true."  We may smugly think: "Hey, I've worked seven days out of the week....I'm not dead....I still have friends and family....Silly commandment."

This commandment may be one of the hardest to keep.  And it isn't simply about not doing any physical work on the Lord's Day.  It is about having a day of resting in the Lord---a day, each week, when we stop from our labors, our accomplishments, our achievements, and recognize that the real work---the work of salvation--has already been completed.  Time to rest; time to rest in the truth.  Time to allow this Truth to be our well of life and refreshment.

We may not physically die from not observing the Lord's Day.  We may still be in relationship with others.  But when we skip the Sabbath, when we treat it lightly....as if it is an "extra" and not an essential, then we begin the process of dying to our true selves as God's beloved.  Then we become less grounded and rooted in God, in the divine image within us.  We become more self-centered and less God-centered, and that, my friends, definitely affects our relationships with others.  No, it doesn't happen in an instant: one minute I'm with friends and the the next minute they've disappeared.  It's a slow sinking into my humanity....a gradual leaking of the power of the Holy Spirit because I haven't gone to the fountain to be refreshed and reminded of who I am and whose I am.

Practice Resurrection: Keep the Sabbath.