Maundy Thursday

So what is this word "maundy"?

According to Donald K. McKim in his "Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms" Maundy Thursdy (From Latin mandatum, "mandate," "commandment")refers to Holy Thursday, before Good Friday, when Jesus commanded his disciples to follow his example of service in the washing of feet (John 13:5ff.). The term derives from the Latin mandatum novum, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another" (John 13:34).

It is a little unfortunate that Maundy Thursday falls on the rather annoying secular holiday of April Fools Day this year. But hopefully anyone who perpetrates a prank today will do it with a loving spirit and not out of some other motivation, especially if they call themselves a Christian.

Which makes me wonder if all those so called "Christian Militia" people are going to observe Maundy Thursday? I mean, if they do take the time to observe this holy day do they understand the hypocrisy they are living? Then again, maybe they understand that although they call themselves "Christian" they really aren't in anything but name only. And what about Glenn Beck and his efforts at saying who is and who is not a good enough Christian, does he understand the problem with that especially if, as a member of the LDS church, he takes Jesus words and commandments seriously?

I think you see where I'm going with all of this. How might we all do a better job at following Jesus new commandment to love one another? In what ways might you look at things differently in your life in response to Jesus' Maundy Thursday mandate?

Mr. Mom Chronicles 2010

It's Friday morning at 10 a.m. and Eric and I are only about 12 hours away from being reunited with Kathy, if for only a little while. After frozen dinners, sleeping in later than we should on school days, probably a little too much junk food and throwing the football in the front yard even when it isn't exactly warm outside, tonight Kathy comes home to Twin Falls before taking Eric to Walla Walla, Washington early tomorrow morning.

Yes, she's been gone a week and will be home for all of maybe six hours before heading out again. This time, however, Eric and I will be joining her; but I will be only joining in for about two hours. You see, the plan was for her to fly into Boise tonight where our other car is and then Eric and Kathy would spend the night in Boise beofre heading out early Saturday to attend a family funeral in Walla Walla while I drove home on Friday night. But yesterday United robo-called to say that Kathy's flight from Denver to Boise had been cancelled.

So this morning, in Grand Rapids, Kathy got on the phone and rerouted her travel arrangements through Salt Lake and getting her to Twin Falls on the last flight tonight. So she'll get to sleep in her own bed for a bit and then we'll all head to Boise where I'll jump out and bring our second car home and have a day of preparation and rest before Holy Week begins on Sunday when Kathy and Eric will come home midday Sunday.

It has been a good, if sometimes stressful week. And even if it is a little bit much sometimes it is a good reminder of all that Kathy does that allows me some room to blow off steam when I need to. It has also been good for Eric and me to bond by playing football, getting special snacks and spending more time together than we sometimes do.

Mr. Mom Chronicles 2010

Today started with tears. To understand why started with a conversation last night. You see, the second and fourth Wednesdays of every months are "Men's Breakfast" in our church--a tradition going back a generation or so--where men of the church gather at seven a.m. at a local restaurant to talk about what's going on in the church and various issues of the day. Of course, with Kathy in Michigan, going to Men's Breakfast would mean that Eric and I would need to be up by no later than six a.m. to get us both ready and the dogs and cats taken care of if I was to bring Eric along and I didn't know whether he wanted to do that and miss the bus. So when I posed the question to him last night he gave me a firm "No."

Of course, by now you can guess, when my alarm went off at 6:40 a.m. he heard it, got out of bed, came in and confidently said, "I've changed my mind, I want to go to Men's Breakfast." By then it was 6:45 a.m. and there was no way that we could both get ready, get the dogs and cat taken care of and have gotten there to do anything more than order before they all got up and headed off on their day. I didn't explain all that to Eric and I'm not sure that he would have understood or believed any or all of it, so I simply said, "It's too late, there's not enough time." To which he marched out of my room and into his own and started wimpering and gradually dialed it up so that I could hear every sob and imagine his whole body shaking with disappointment.

I did not, however, change my mind. There was simply not enough time. And besides, it was a relatively harmless way for him to learn that sometimes you have to stick with your decisions. That being said, I did bend a little and told him that after his "Rocket Math" awards ceremony at school today we'd stop somewhere special and get a treat--I'm thinking Daisy's and Volcano Drinks; no doubt he's thinking Target and a toy. Time will tell and hopefully Kathy will weigh in throughout the day via text as to what the treat should be.

Mr. Mom Chronicles 2010

Today's parenting adventures in the world of single-parenting has been relatively easy thanks to many who helped make the day go smoothly.

Even as Eric and I are sitting here watching Discovery Channel's "Life" I am grateful to the life of our congregation which made Kathy's absence in Grand Rapids possible. Eric and I started the day early, at 7:30 a.m. when we left the church for my preparation time. After listening to me read through the sermon and watching me read through my Sunday School lesson, Eric headed off to the nursery with Margaret Harris who helped him let things out ahead of worship. By the time I was done with my 8:30 a.m. Sunday School Class Eric was taken to be with Wendy Neilsen, a most capable and gifted teacher who was preparing her class for Sunday School. And then in the afternoon Eric spent the day with Tina, Lawrence and Christopher Flournoy while I went off to afternoon Sunday School, a Premarital Counseling Lunch and then the Installation service or the new Lutheran Pastor in Twin Falls, Scott Berner.

All of this is to say, that if it weren't for Margaret, Wendy, and the Flournoy family, how would I have gotten through the day and how angry would Eric feel after going from event from event? Of course, he may well have persevered, but I'm glad I didn't have to find out thanks to the many caring people who made this day go so much more smoothly: Thank You!

Mr. Mom 2010

Well, Kathy is off to Grand Rapids Michagan and I am at home with Eric. It turned out to be a busy day, but very satisfying. We all slept in this morning and when I did finally get up Eric and Kathy allowed me to read a little before I was out of the house for a mid-morning appointment which ended up being cancelled. After that it was home for a little before off to lunch out with the family and then off to the church to meet with a local artist who is helping the church get ready for a new baptismal font.

Our meeting at the church with the artist was very informative and led to a nice afternoon of outdoor sports with Eric before Kathy headed off to Boise. He and I walked over to Doug and Judy Pollow's home for an hour and a half of basketball in their driveway before walking home to wish Kathy off well on her trip up to Boise.

Since then I've spent time out in the garage working on two stained glass projects while Eric played with neighborhood kids. He had a really good time form about four p.m. to just after seven when I finally had to tell him it was time to come in and get dinner. And now we are about to get ready for bed--a story for Eric and some more TV for me.

Dealing with Temptation

In thinking about this week's text from Luke of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness I'm reminded of some of my favorite temptations...foood.

In fact, I just had a nice conversation with one of our church's bulletin folders about how my biggest dietary no-no that is so hard to resist is late-night snacking. You know, I'll get to thinking that a handful of Hershey's kisses wouldn't be too bad. But then half an hour later I wonder if a handful of chex-mix wouldn't balance out all of that sweet of the previous handful with a little saltiness. And then before you know it I've found something that's somewhere between the sugary, chocolaty, sweetness and the crunchy saltiness to finish off the night of snacking and before you know it I've consumed just as many calories as dinner without any of the nutritional value.

And then I'm reminded of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness and the millions and billions of people around the globe who know true hunger after days and weeks without proper nutrients. And when I remember such things I am ashamed. I am also reminded how easily we can excuse away our temptations. You know, thinking things like, "who is it going to hurt if I have one more handful of whatever?"

And its not that there's anything wrong with snacking or being grateful for the overwhelming abundance with which we live in throughout our comfortable middle American lives, but we should pause once in a while and reflect on what it means to have so much when the rest of the world has so little. And if we can get to that point where we really get it; where we really see how fortunate we really are; might we not be led to think of some of our choices as giving in to temptation?

Somewhere along these lines I'm reminded of some of the words that precede that glorious Psalm of deliverance, Psalm 23. They are words that so few of us have ever experienced in our abundant lives, but they are words that hopefully will make us pause as we remember Jesus' temptations in the wilderness as well as our own temptations in a land of anything but wilderness, a land flowing with Costco, Supermarkets, and fast food chains:

For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me. My hands and feet have shriveled; I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me; they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. (Psalm 22:16-18)

As you ponder these words, may you thank God for all you have been given and think about what it might mean to live more responsibly with temptation.

Trust in God No Matter What

Today is the second day of Lent. How are you doing with your Lenten disciplines, you know, those things you've chosen to give up or those practices you've chosen to take on for the forty days of Lent? As for me, I'm hoping to read the daily lectionary, dedicate more time to daily prayer and read the Mission Yearbook, along with blogging.

In today's lectionary reading from the prophet Habakuk, we find these words:

Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will exult in the God of my salvation. (3:17-18)

As I read those words and as I read the Mission Yearbook's description of a Presbyterian Mission school in a war-torn section of Ethiopia where children make music out of discarded oil tins from UN refugee camps and practice art by sculpting giraffes and elephants out of mud, I was struck by how many people are able to praise God and participate in God's creative love even while living far removed from the comfortable lives of just about anyone who might be able to access and read this blog.

And so when I think about maintaining daily disciplines like reading scripture, dedicating myself to prayer and recording my thoughts online it is with a sense of deep gratitude and humbleness, for there are billions of my fellow brothers and sisters whose lives are far more complicated and desolate whose dedication to God is inspiring.

May you in your efforts at observing daily Lenten disciplines be strengthened in your journey with the knowledge that no matter what, God walks by our side.