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Poem 78 by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write it on your heart every day is the best day in the year.

                He is rich who owns the day,

And no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.

                Finish every day and be done with it.

You have done what you could.

Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in.

Forget them as soon as you can,  tomorrow is a new day;

                Begin it well and serenely,

With too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

                This new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations,

To waste a moment on the yesterday’s.©

I attended the funeral of a friend this past Saturday and this Emerson poem was part of the program. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a 19th-century American philosopher, minister, and writer. He held these ideas: people are best when they are independent and self-reliant, and not puppets of society and its institutions; intuition is a higher form of intelligence and can lead people to do the right thing; all creation is essentially unified; and divine experience is inherent in everyday life. 

I stumbled on the first three lines of the poem, scoffing at the idea that happy thoughts make everything better. But the next two lines made me smile, “Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could.” We all hold a lifetime of joys and regrets, some of us are more comfortable with regret. I believe God has no intention that we hold on to anything from the past. I believe God intends for us to live in the present, basking in the eternal light and love of our risen Savior. This is a very difficult task for me and I know I am not alone. I cling to the things that I am comfortable with, things behind me that cannot be changed. I want to cling to every moment that I am experiencing now, joyful or sorrowful, knowing that God is with me in all these things. We urgently need to focus on today and what we can do today to share the love of Christ with the world. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6: 34, ‘Don’t worry at all then about tomorrow. Tomorrow can take care of itself! One day’s trouble is enough for one day.’ (JB Phillips New Testament).

Max spoke Sunday about the mustard seed and the little things we can do to cause something good to grow. I pray for us to all have those little things in mind as we move through this day knowing that this new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterday’s.

I am preaching Sunday. We will talk more about clinging. My love to all, Mary   

PS: I am hearing from all of you how lovely the fellowship hall decorations are. Thanks so very much to Cindy, Sheila, Lindsey, and all the others recruited to spiff up our fellowship hall!

Ash Wednesday—THIS Wednesday

Tonight!—if you’re reading this on Wednesday. Begin Lent at the beginning. If we ever needed the encouragement of the Gospel, it is now.

Sandwich supper at 6:00. (No, I’m not bringing my tuna sandwiches. My sister is bringing her chicken salad sandwiches.) Desserts are coming, too. But worship is the main event, and it will start at 6:30.

This is a contemplative service. Blake will sing the beautiful Above All. We will be reminded that we are loved and forgiven. Mary will impose the ashes of repentance. There will be a moment at the altar for prayer if you choose.

Come.

Discovering God Class

I wish everyone could have been in my class last Sunday. We had a meaningful discussion about who we are—a soul temporarily assigned to a body. This week, we will learn that deathbed visions are just one element of God’s loving welcome as we leave this place.

Class at 9:45. Breakfast after.

Breakfast This Sunday

This Sunday—it’s up to us. We all bring. Help if you can. Breakfast is at 10:30.

First Sunday of Lent

The paraments turn purple. We begin our journey to Easter. But the journey matters. The scripture will be the temptation in the wilderness.

The sermon: Where the Power Lies.

Everything Satan says in this passage is a lie. (Hmmm—who does that remind me of?)

We had 70 in attendance again last Sunday. Let’s make a habit of it.

This is a time for commitment.

Jesus said we are “the light of the world.” Let that light shine. Let the world see and hear our witness.

See you Sunday.

God bless,

MB

REMEMBER!!!—ASH WEDNESDAY.

Greetings St. Matthew friends, family, and members,

Today is traditionally known as “Fat Tuesday” or Mardi Gras. From The Britannica (the online version of the Encyclopedia Britannica), “the French name Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday, from the custom of using all the fats in the home before Lent in preparation for fasting and abstinence.” The actual season of celebration is called Carnival, and in New Orleans, “citywide revelry and elaborate parades both day and night are celebrated. Beads of green, gold, and purple (representing power, faith, and justice) are commonly distributed, and the eating of king cake is an iconic part of the celebration.”

Carnival is a traditional Roman Catholic observance of using up all of the meat (carnem levare) before a season of fasting and other ascetic practices. An ascetic practice is one of strict self-denial, serving as a form of personal and spiritual discipline. First-century Christians modeled this behavior, following the example of Jesus in the wilderness for forty days, as told in Matthew 4:1-11. The idea is to use up the “extravagant” food around the house to keep it from going bad during the season of Lent. As the celebration of excess ends, the season of reflection and sacrifice begins.

Lent is a time for preparation—a time to shift our focus away from the extravagances of life and instead focus on making ourselves ready for the events of Easter. You cannot get to the resurrection without going through those torturous days in the garden, in the upper room, at Calvary, and in the tomb. God, made flesh in the body of Jesus of Nazareth, battled sin and death for us because we are the beloved children of the Creator. This is a profoundly humbling time for me.

On Wednesday evening, I will stand at the front of the church, make the sign of the cross on your forehead with ashes and olive oil, and tell you that you are loved and forgiven. I am only able to do this because I am also loved and forgiven. It is not me that does the loving or the forgiving—it is the grace of God, poured out on us all, that draws us deeper into relationship.

I am not the best at giving things up for Lent. I always begin the season with a promise that I will give up something that isn’t good for me (candy, scotch, fried food, etc.), yet I have never made it the entire forty days. However, God has given me the strength to add something that is good for me (a Lenten study, walking one mile every day for forty days, writing in a journal, etc.).

There are many ways to observe Lent, and none of them involve looking at our neighbors in judgment or condemnation. Lent is the time to turn our eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And let the things of earth grow dim in the light of His glory and grace.

I hope you will join me in adding something to your life that is good—something holy and sacred. I’d love to hear what you choose and how it impacts your life—please share your experience with me!

My love to all,
Mary