Dear Easter People,

We are currently in our worship series “Life’s Highs and Lows,” based on the Psalms. Each week, we explore a different landscape image from a psalm and how it connects to God and the human experience. Last week’s service was about the mountains in Psalm 121, which you can view online here. This Sunday we’ll unpack the beauty of Psalm 23. By the time the series is over, we will ponder moments in our lives that are like deserts, skies, rivers, and roads.

This journey through the Psalms would not feel complete without some acknowledgment of Psalm 46. It contains the often-quoted verse 10, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

It is a verse that is quite conducive to a special form of prayer called the “breath prayer,” practiced by Christian mystics for generations. In her book Paths to Prayer: Finding Your Own Way to the Presence of God, Patricia Brown shares one way to practice breath prayer based on this psalm.

It involves inhaling and exhaling for counts of five, along with holding one’s breath for a few seconds between each exhale and inhale. Momentarily holding your breath allows for a slight build-up of carbon dioxide which helps relieve anxiety and stress. Patricia Brown also notes that in those satisfying moments of taking in a full breath, Christian mystics believed that the Spirit of God is most fully recognized. Holding that full, beautiful breath for a few seconds can be an act of resonance with God’s presence.

In January 2020, Patricia Brown provided a workshop for our entire church leadership, and she led us in this guided exercise, based on Psalm 46:10, which I invite you to experience now:

THE BREATH PRAYER

Sit with you back straight and your palms on your lap, face up or down, with your feet flat on the floor.

Close your eyes.

Remember in this moment that God holds you in a loving presence, just as water filling every nook and cranny.

Now, slowly count to five, taking in a deep breath: (1…2…3…4…5) and hold that breath in for a second or two. This is the place where the mystics say God dwells.

Now begin to exhale slowly (1…2…3…4…5) and hold for a few seconds.

Continue that pattern of silent breathing, counting to five with each inhale and exhale, holding a pause in between.

Patricia Brown then read each of the following lines, slowly, with enough time in between for people to take their five counts of inhaling, exhaling, and holding.

Be still, and know that I am God… (inhale, pause, exhale, pause)

Be still, and know that I am… (inhale, pause, exhale, pause)

Be still, and know… (inhale, pause, exhale, pause)

Be still… (inhale, pause, exhale, pause)

Be… (inhale, pause, exhale, pause)

[SILENCE]

Now gently, slowly open your eyes.

How are you feeling? As the spirit releases you from this time of breath prayer, carry its calm awareness with you as you move on with your day.

I hope that you will find moments during this Easter season to practice the sacred act of breath prayer, giving thanks for the presence of God that is as close to you as your own breath.

Grace and Peace,

MIDWEEK MESSAGE WILL RETURN MID-MAY

As I finish my preparations for General Conference from April 23 to May 3, I will be taking a break from writing the Midweek Message until mid-May. I may share a special pastoral word if the need arises from the events of General Conference. As always, keep up with all the exciting things happening at Hyde Park United Methodist on our website.

Dear Hyde Park Family,

Less than three weeks from now, 862 United Methodist delegates from around the world will gather in Charlotte, North Carolina for the General Conference of the United Methodist Church. It will be the fourteenth time that our denomination has gathered for this quadrennial meeting since the United Methodist Church was officially formed in 1968, and 232 years after the first conference of the Methodist Church met in Baltimore, Maryland.

I am honored to have been elected by our Annual Conference to serve as one of the sixteen delegates from Florida, comprised of 8 clergy and 8 laity. In addition, Rev. Clarke Campbell-Evans is a fellow clergy delegate, along with Rev. Justin LaRosa as a reserve clergy delegate, and Steve Gardner as a reserve lay delegate.

From April 23 to May 3, we will engage in worship and holy conferencing, for the purpose of interpreting the work of the United Methodist Church for the present age. Delegates will consider hundreds of petitions and make a wide array of decisions, guiding the denomination in its allocation of resources, its position on major issues, and its priorities for ministry.

Last Tuesday, Hyde Park hosted a livestreamed, informational webinar, in which I interviewed Bishop Tom Berlin, Molly McEntire (the head of our laity delegation) and Rev. Alex Shanks (the head of our clergy delegation.) I would encourage you to watch the hour-long webinar here. 

Among the many matters of discernment and consideration will be these four major issues:

• Revision of our Social Principles: to speak into contemporary issues in ways that are globally relevant and biblically based.
• Reduction of the Denomination’s Overall Budget: to maximize resources for local churches to do the work of making disciples.
• Regionalization of the Denomination’s Global Structure: to allow the United Methodist Church to minister in the most effective ways in different global contexts.
• Removal of Discriminatory Language and Policies: to reduce the harm done to LGBTQIA+ persons.

If you have any questions or comments about any of these items, please feel free to reach out to me, Justin, Clarke, or Steve.

A PRAYER FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE

I invite you to be in prayer for this important work, both as we prepare over the coming weeks, and as we gather in Charlotte. I wrote the following as a way to prompt and guide your own prayers:

Almighty and Everlasting God,

We pray for the work of the General Conference. We entrust to your care those who are serving as delegates, that you might strengthen them with physical and mental stamina to conduct their business with courage, mutual love, and spiritual centeredness. We pray for their long hours of work and their short nights of rest.

We pray for a renewed commitment to the central command of Jesus, which is to make disciples of all nations. Guide the delegates toward an unrelenting focus on that ideal, that it may guide every decision. Remind us that true transformation begins in the mind and the heart.

We pray for the way General Conference will interpret the church’s witness to the controversial topics of our day. We are aware of the polarizing potential of such issues, so may there be a revitalized and shared commitment to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with you.

We pray for clarity in the way the agencies, programs, and fiscal activities of the church will be evaluated for their effectiveness. Empower the General Conference to negotiate the hard decisions wisely, and to refrain from making some decisions harder than they need to be. We pray for reform, for the right reasons, in the right areas, in the right ways.

God of us all, renew our vision of dry bones enfleshed with new life. Fill us with the promise of resurrection, and a sense of hope for the future. Grant to your church an optimism balanced with realism, strengthened by our mutual efforts to do your holy work, and sustained by the power of your Spirit. May the work of this General Conference impact the United Methodist Church on all levels, from the General Boards to the grassroots, from the ordained to the laity, from local communities to contexts all around the world.

In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

Grace and Peace,

Dear Lenten Pilgrims,

One of the oldest hymns in our hymnal was written in the year 818 A.D., by a man named Theodulf, the Bishop of Orleans. He was a noted poet who wrote a refrain that would become part of our standard Palm Sunday celebrations:

All glory, laud and honor,

To Thee, Redeemer, King,

To Whom the lips of children

Made sweet hosannas ring.

The entire hymn is a vivid portrayal of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and many churches sing it as children process down the aisles with palm fronds in their hands. What is widely unknown is that Theodulf wrote a sixth verse to the hymn. The reason it is not included in our hymnal will be plain when you read it:

Be Thou, O Lord, the Rider,

And we the little ass,

That to God’s holy city

Together we may pass.

When John Neale translated Theodulf’s original Latin text to English in 1851, he remarked that this sixth verse “was usually sung until the 17th Century, at the quaintness of which we can scarcely avoid a smile.”      

No, we will not be singing that verse this Sunday. But I am intrigued by the implications of Theodulf’s sixth verse. We have many points of entry into the Palm Sunday story.  

• We might identify with the crowds who shouted “Hosanna!” (“Save us!”) and recognize our own need for Jesus in our lives.
• We might identify with the citizens of Jerusalem, whose question “Who is this man?” captures the depth of our own spiritual searching.
• We might identify with the disciples, as we measure the level of our commitment to Jesus in the midst of uncertainty and turmoil.

But rarely do we identify with that donkey.

In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus sent two of the disciples on an advance mission to secure a donkey that had been pre-arranged by Jesus. And all three gospels have these three verbs in common.

• They untied the donkey.
• They claimed it for Jesus by telling the owner that he needed it.
• Then they brought it to Jesus for his use.

What would it mean for you to be the donkey on Palm Sunday? It would mean that you would participate in all three actions as part of your own spiritual preparation as we enter this holiest week of the year.

First, be untied.  From what aspects of your life does God wish to free you? What are the bonds that are preventing the free flow of God’s grace in your life, and what are the sins that are masking God’s full image from being revealed in you?

Second, remember that you are claimed.  God has placed a unique calling in your life, for the task of building the kingdom here on earth. Remember that no matter what happens, you belong to God, and you have been chosen for a purpose greater than your self-interest.  

Finally, draw near to Jesus. Be intentional during this upcoming Holy Week to recalibrate yourself toward the disciplines, priorities, and way of Christ. Surrender yourself to the cross you are called to bear, as we follow the One whose cross brought us new life.

I don’t know about you, but I somewhat wish we included Theodulf’s sixth verse in our hymnal. Regardless, we can all work to live out its words, and try to be “a little ass” for Jesus.

(And Neale was right; try reading that without a smile on your face!)

Grace and Peace,

JOIN US FOR HOLY WEEK

Visit our website for all the ways you can observe Holy Week with Hyde Park United Methodist.

Dear Lenten Pilgrims,

I spent the last several days out of town enjoying Spring Break with my daughters Grace and Maddy. We spent most of our time in Chicago, where Grace is in graduate school for Museum Studies. But last Monday and Tuesday, we made a quick road trip over to Cherokee, Iowa, to see some old friends from our previous church, and to inter the ashes of our beloved dog Micah, whom we adopted in Iowa and who died last January at the age of 16.

While we were in northwest Iowa, a local high school teacher and friend of mine asked me to speak to her high school assembly about the importance of communication skills in one’s life and career. I offered a 45-minute presentation called “The Power of Your Words,” based on a sermon I preached at Hyde Park several years ago.

I thought I’d share the highlights from my talk to those high schoolers, which was in the form of The Top Ten Tongue Twister to Help You Tame Your Tongue.

10. If liars lie in lairs of lies, in their lairs lay lots of liars.

This one is about lies and truth telling. In a time when there is so much misinformation on social media, and misleading information being shared to sway people’s opinions, it is important to check where you are getting your facts, verify it with other sources, and do your very best to share the truth.

9. If you attack behind their back, they’ll be back to bite you back.

This one is about gossip, which is conversation about a person’s private life without their knowledge, in a way that is unkind, judgmental, or untrue. Ask yourself these questions before you share that information with others. Does this have to do with a person’s private life, which they don’t want to be made public? Is it unkind, judgmental, or untrue? And most importantly: Has that person give me permission to share this information with others?

8. I need not your needles; they’re needless to me. It need not be needed to be needling me.

Watch the insults. There is no need to cut people down. It is true there might be a distinction between insults and teasing. The latter can be a fun and non-harmful way of connecting with family and friends, based on shared memories and inside jokes. But there is a fine line between teasing and insults. Insults cut deeply into someone’s personhood and can conjure up hard and harmful feelings.

7. An oyster’s noise annoys me, see, When an oyster voices complaints to me.

This one is about grumbling and complaining. Life is meant to be filled with joy, enthusiasm, and hope. Instead, some people choose to live lives full of pessimism, grouchiness, and grumpiness. Now, there are times when it is appropriate to feel dissatisfied, and even angry, about the state of things, like when there is injustice, inequity, or harm being done. It is right to complain then. But to have a general, perpetual state of complaining is not only unhelpful; it can be harmful.

6. Ye have two ears to hear in here, so hear ye with your ears, and don’t pack your yaks like a yakking yak pack packs yaks.

This is a simple reminder to listen more. The book of James says, “Everyone must be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry.” Yes, it is important to claim your own voice and to speak your truth. But remember that yours is not the only voice, and yours is not the only story. Listen more to others.

5. Classless cusses cause crass clauses across coarse courses.

This one is pretty simple. Cut down on the cursing. Yes, there are certain words of profanity that express meaning in ways that classier words cannot convey. But the better way to speak is to elevate our speech beyond that of the coarse and unrefined. Stay away from the crass; opt for the classy.

4. Love best builds and fills when it’s built and fills your will.

This one is really important. Use your words to encourage people. Paul says, “Bear one another’s burdens … Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” Make it a habit of offering at least one word of encouragement every day to someone else. You will be surprised at the impact you can make on other people. And more surprisingly, you will see the impact that it can make on yourself.

3. Patient patients push a penchant for patience in a pinch.

Think before you speak. Let your words be graced with patience. It can be easy to talk impulsively, in the heat of emotion. Sometimes that is unavoidable, and you just need to say something to get it out of your system. But to the degree that you can help it, take a breath before you say something, whether it be in person, via text, or email. When we let our unbridled emotions take over, we often pay the price.

2. Would you bother to bother a brother if you offer one offer but proffer another?

Watch the hypocrisy. Back up your words with actions. One of the fastest and most enduring ways for you to compromise your integrity and gain a bad reputation in the eyes of others is to say you are for something, but then act against it. Or to make a promise, but then not follow through with it. Make sure your word is your bond, and that your actions are consistent with your words.

So now it is time for number one. And this one is so important that I offer it just straight and clear. No gimmicks, and no tongue-twisting.

1. Speak the Truth in Love

This means being willing to say something you don’t want to say but needs to be said. Yes, there are times when we need to keep our mouths shut. But there are times when we need to speak truth to others that they don’t want to hear. Sharing that truth can sometimes hurt. It can be costly and painful. But when we share it in love and genuine concern, in the long run, it can bring hope and healing.

We can all work on our speech. Our words can be destructive and divisive, or they can bring wholeness and life. The choice is ours.

Grace and Peace,

Dear Lenten Pilgrims,

At the start of the year I began using a book titled Being Here: Prayers for Justice, Curiosity, and Love by Padraig O’Tuama. He is an Irish poet, theologian, and conflict mediator whose writings have been very helpful in my spiritual practices. Being Here has been a beautiful part of my daily devotionals this year.

He begins with an introduction to a form of prayer called the collect (pronounced CAH-lect, rather than cuh-LECT), which is one of the most common types of prayer in Christian worship.

Here is a famous one, called “The Collect for Purity:”

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secretes are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy name: through Christ our Lord. Amen.

O’Tuama says there is a basic five-fold structure to the collect.

A. Name the one you’re praying to

B. Unfold the name of the one you’re praying to

C. Name one desire

D. Unfold the desire you’ve named

E. End

You can see those five elements in the Collect for Purity:

A.  Almighty God,

B.  unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secretes are hid:

C.  cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit,

D.  that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy name:

E.  through Christ our Lord. Amen.

To put it in even more basic terms, O’Tuama says the structure is:

A. Address

B. Say more

C. Ask one thing

D. Say more

E. Bird of Praise

I love his phrase “Bird of Praise.” It’s his way of describing the way we seal and offer the prayer up to God, releasing it by the power of the Holy Spirit for God’s use in us and throughout the world.

Here is another example. It is the Collect for Lent in our United Methodist Hymnal. See if you can identify the five elements:

O God our deliverer, you led your people of old through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide now the people of your church, that, following our Savior, we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen.

As part of your Lenten journey, I invite you to write a collect that is meaningful to you. Here is a simple one that I wrote:

God,                                                                                                                         

I know that you love me.                                                                                   

Help me to love myself,                                                                                     

That I may love others.                                                                                      

In Jesus name, Amen.

I led the staff in this exercise back in January, and invited them to write one. They each did a wonderful job. Here is a sample of what they came up with:

The One who summoned me, 

You are who laid out all the plans for my life 

Help me follow that plan, seeking You in every step at your pace and at your direction. 

Looking not at the landscape or the problems that loom, but only your face. 

I bless your Holy Name in this moment and forever.  

O holy God, who loves all without condition. 

Enable me to have patience at home and focus with work, so that I may better love my family and use my unique gifts to equip others. 

In the power and name of Jesus I pray, Amen. 

Creator of Hope,  

Source of light and security,  

Open my eyes to how much you love me:  

Help me to see where you are working in my life that I may be at peace to release my anxiety of all that is happening.  

In your steadfast strength, Amen 

I hope you find the form and beauty of the collect a helpful addition to your prayer practices.

And I would love to read any collects that you write!

Grace and Peace,

Dear Lenten Pilgrims,

For the past few days, I have been with my clergy covenant group in Atlanta for one of our bi-annual retreats. It is a gathering I always cherish, connecting with my closest friends in ministry for a time of encouragement, learning, and play.

Yesterday, we were at the Candler School of Theology, the seminary of Emory University, where our covenant brother Dr. Brett Opalinski serves as the Assistant Dean of Methodist Studies. He invited us to meet with the first-year students in his Discipleship Seminar, to share with them about how our own spiritual practices shape our life and ministry, and how we lead others in deepening their discipleship.

Brett began our panel discussion reminding us that following Jesus involves both being and doing. It is both a conscious orientation toward the way of Jesus, and a faithful effort to practice that way. And as my friend Scott Smith said, many of us are good at being, but not at doing.

But both are necessary. Discipleship requires clarity about what Jesus wants us to become, as well as clarity about what Jesus is asking us to do. 

A LESSON FOR JOHN WESLEY

After John Wesley’s ill-fated missionary trip to Georgia, in which he not only failed to bring new people to Jesus but also feared for his life from a near-shipwreck, Wesley returned to England with a badly shaken faith.

He confessed to a German Moravian bishop named Peter Boehler how much he was struggling with his faith and his doubts. He was set to preach the next day and told Boehler that he was “clearly convinced of unbelief,” and was tempted to not preach. He wondered in his journal how he could “preach to others when he had not faith himself?”

He asked Boehler whether he should not preach, but Boehler said he should.

Wesley asked him, “But what can I preach?” Boehler replied, “Preach faith till you have it, and then, because you have it, you will preach faith.”

To put Boehler’s advice in broader terms of discipleship, practice the faith until you have faith. Then because you have it, you will practice faith. That nugget of insight reminded Wesley of the real importance of spiritual practices. We don’t do them in order to be saved. We do spiritual practices because we are saved. And then we do spiritual practices to be strengthened in our faith.

If you are in a place in your life where you feel like your faith is weak, or you are unsteadied by doubts or disbelief, then practice the faith until your faith is strong. And then then you can practice the faith because your faith is strong.

SPIRITUAL PRACTICES AT HYDE PARK

In this congregation, we talk about the Discipleship Pathway, which describes the seven spiritual practices that help us grow in our faith. There are three corporate practices that we do in community (Worship, Small Groups, Service) and four private practices that can be remembered with the acronym G.R.I.P.: (Give generously, Read Scripture, Invite Others, Pray.) You can learn more about these practices and find resources for how to develop them here.

You can also view last week’s sermon, where we explore these practices in the context of Jesus’ call to Peter to take up our cross and follow him.

During these days of Lent, and every day, may your life be enriched by attentiveness to the Holy Spirit and the daily diligence of spiritual practices. May you discover the reward of practicing the faith until you have it, and the joy of practicing the faith because you have it.

Grace and Peace,

​Dear Lenten Pilgrims,

In my journey of living into “savor” as my key word for Lent, I am sharing a prayer I experienced last weekend that I have found to be very meaningful.

Last Saturday, I attended an event in Orlando called “Exploration,” which gathered people from around the country who are exploring a call into ministry. It was incredibly inspiring in its hopeful vision of the future of the United Methodist Church.

In one of the opening worship services, my colleague and friend Rev. Debbie Allen offered this guided prayer, which was published by the spiritual resource Enfleshed.

It is a prayer meant to be prayed slowly and meditatively to allow the Holy Spirit to move in and between the phrases. You might simply choose to read the prayer to yourself silently, pausing along the way. You might be creative, audio recording yourself on your phone or other device, so that you can close your eyes as you receive the prayer in your own voice. Or you might have someone else do the same for you, as you experience the prayer together.

However you offer it to God, may this prayer be a blessing to you as it was to me.

“God Who Pays Attention”

By M. Jade Keiser

God who feels,

God who pays attention,

God who formed webs of life entangled,

Help me to notice today…

To notice my body – what it’s telling me it needs and wants.

To notice my neighbors – who they are and how they are.

To notice the creatures and creations around me – each as a valuable life of their own.

You know my limitations – what is enough or too much

To be aware of at once.

To connect with.

To feel. To hold.

Do not allow me to rush pass what needs or deserves my attention.

Neither let me be overwhelmed by trying to bear more than my share.

Just help me to be alive to what is,

alive to you within and around.

Amen. 

Dear Hyde Park Family,

What are the defining moments of your life?

All of us can point to memories that we consider pivotal in shaping who we are today. Perhaps you think of the day you got married, the birth of a child, or the moment you survived a near-death episode. These moments change you, leaving an indelible imprint.

For Jesus, the transfiguration was a defining moment in his life. On a mountaintop with his three closest friends, Jesus appeared glowing white, accompanied by Elijah and Moses. And he heard a voice from heaven: “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

The synoptic gospel writers tell this story about halfway in their gospels, to suggest that the transfiguration was not just important to the life of Jesus, it was important to the salvation story of all humanity. The presence of Elijah and Moses, the words heard at Christ’s baptism, and the allusion to mountaintop experiences throughout the Bible all point to the grand sweep of salvation history.

The transfiguration story is therefore a defining moment for all those who walk the life of faith. Will we choose to stay on the mountaintop, as Peter, James, and John preferred, or will we enter a life of self-sacrifice, commitment, and surrender to God?

Wesleyan Christians refer to the daily decisions to follow Jesus as the process of sanctification. It is the grace-empowered journey of slowly being conformed to the image of Christ in every aspect of our lives. Catherine Livingston was a nineteenth-century Methodist married to the preacher Freeborn Garretson. In an entry in her personal diary, she reflected on the defining moment in her life, when she chose to identify with Christ, in his death and resurrection:

I find myself more than ever engaged for sanctification. I desire to rest in nothing short of this great privilege. I want to serve my God with a perfect heart and willing mind. I have long seen a great beauty in this doctrine, and long to bear witness to the truth of it. I last night dreamed I was crucified. Be it so, Lord Jesus! Let me die that I may live, and that my life may be hid with you. Such a day of heaviness and travail of soul I have not experienced in a long time. (Garretson Family papers, UMC Archives, Drew University)

 
This Sunday, we celebrate Transfiguration Sunday, the final Sunday before the season of Lent. Join us for this important last step of preparation before we begin our journey to the cross.

In the words of Peter on the mountain, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.”

Grace and Peace,