Come and See!

Read John 1:35-51

Dear Friends,

We call Friday's "All Daddy, All Day" at our house. Friday's are my day off; my wife works at the library most Fridays; and my 5 year old is not yet in school. So Friday I am available for my daughter's every whim. I usually enjoy this. Usually.

Last Friday, I had one email that I needed to send. It wasn't even church related - I am the Cubmaster of Pack 57 and I needed to update the Pack calendar. So I asked my daughter to entertain herself for 10 minutes so I could stare at a computer screen.

It took me nearly 45 minutes to send that email.

"Daddy, come here - look what I did!"
"Daddy, come here - I'm doing a puzzle."
"Daddy, come and see - do you like this picture. I colored it just for you."
"Daddy, come and see."

Each request conveyed excitement and eagerness to share the experience. All Daddy, All Day, indeed.

In John's gospel, when Jesus calls Philip he simply says, "Come and See." In turn Philip tells his friend Nathanael, "Come and See." It's a simple invitation to check out what God is up to.  In John's gospel, Jesus is at his best when he is encountering people. It starts with these disciples, continues with a certain Pharisee named Nicodemus, and then the Samaritan woman at the well and the man born blind. Jesus encounters Peter, Pilate, and even Thomas, who doubts.
To all these, Jesus says in one way or another: "Come and See."

Come and see - what God is up to.
Come and see - what God might do with your life.
Come and see - a new future is possible.
Come and see - God's grace is at work around you.
Come and see - God's love is real - and is available to all people.

Come and see.

What if we invited our friends, our colleagues, our co-workers and neighbors to come and see what God is doing in our lives and in the lives of Community Presbyterian Church?

I believe that God is working here in this place. God is up to something - and it is good. I have discovered that this is a special place - a place to worship, to experience fellowship, to grow in relationship both with one another, but more importantly with God in Jesus Christ. Come and See for yourself what I have discovered to be true about this place.

I have no doubt that the future of the church - and this church in particular - are in God's trustworthy hands. I have no doubt that the same spirit of God that was present when Jesus was baptized is still working through us. I have no doubt that the same spirit that worked through Phillip when he asked Nathanael to "come and see" is working through us. Might we trust that spirit to continue working as we say to others: "Come and See."

Amen and amen.

Remember Your Baptism

Read Mark 1:4-11

I have a confession. I can't remember my baptism.

To be fair, I was three months old. Baptized in November, 1974.

Yesterday was "Baptism of the Lord" Sunday in church. Ever since the days of Martin Luther, reformed churches have been encouraging her membership to remember your baptism.

Now, I get the importance of baptism. Hey, I went to seminary - so I can say things like "baptism is a sacrament and a sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace." And when I do stop and think about it, I can articulate several reasons why baptism is important. But the truth is, I just don't think about baptism all that often.

I am, however, thankful for the opportunity to think about the baptism of Jesus at least once a year. I like to think of it as the story where John the Baptism got his name, after all, if he didn't baptize Jesus we would probably call him "John the locust eater" or "John the beheaded."

There are two things I want to highlight from this reading. First, the words from heaven are deeply personal and profound. God says to Jesus when he is being baptized "This is my son with whom I am well pleased." These words contain some deep and abiding promises about being claimed by God and blessed by God.

The thing that I love about Mark's gospel is that this is one of the first stories about Jesus. Immediately after being baptized, Jesus finds himself in the desert resisting temptation. And then he begins his ministry - healing, casting out, welcoming, and the like.

For Mark's gospel, Jesus' baptism is not an preamble. Rather it is the foundation for all of Jesus ministry. In fact, I think that Jesus is able to say the same thing that God said to him through his ministry - that is that you are a child of God; God is well pleased with you." Every time he heals someone, Jesus is saying that they have worth and value. Every time he casts out a demon, Jesus is saying that they matter to God.

And that's why it is important for us to remember our own baptism (or at least reflect on the meaning of it.) In our baptism, the promise that God made to Jesus is extended onto us. We are God's children. With us God is well pleased.

And these promises enable and empower us to extent the same love, care, and hospitality to those we meet in our daily lives.

So don't forget - God loves you. You are a beloved child of God. And with you, God is well pleased.

And one more thing - as you live into the truth of these words, don't forget to share them with someone you love.

Amen.

Leaning into the Light

Did you know that author Katherine Patterson (married to a Presbyterian Pastor!) wrote an original story for her husband to read on Christmas Eve to his congregation? Well, I'm no award winning novelist, but I do recognize a great tradition. For three years I have written a story for the children of my church and read it to them on Christmas Eve. My hope is that the adults present also listen to the story. Here is my Christmas Eve story from December 24, 2014. Blessings!

John

Leaning Into the Light

An Original Story by Rev. John H.G. Curtiss

Written for the Children of the Community Presbyterian Church for the worship service on Christmas Eve.

December 24, 2014

Hello there. My name is Jack and I am 8 years old. And I want to tell you about the best Christmas I ever had. It all started with the lighting of the first Advent Candle.

You see, my mom and my two sisters – I’m the middle child – a Jack-in-the-box – my family likes to tease – we go to church each week. My Dad…he’s not really into church. My Dad once said to me, “Rooster Nugget (that’s his nickname for me), I work all week with a bunch of hypocrites! Why would I want to spend my free Sunday morning with more of ‘em!” Now, I’m not entirely sure what a hypocrite is – but Dad stays home on Sundays and does yard work or little things around the house (when he’s not watching SportsCenter on ESPN).

My oldest sister is 12 and my mom says that she is practicing being a teen-ager a year too early. That means that she rolls her eyes at half of the things my mom says and ignores the other half. Because she is nearly a teen-ager, I am stuck with my baby sister a lot. She’s fun, but she is only 3 and can’t do a lot for herself. So I sit next to her in church and help keep her quiet so that mom can listen and my big sister can pretend like she isn’t listening.

At my church we prepare for Christmas by lighting the advent candle. It’s a way to help us prepare for the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day. There are four Sundays in Advent and each Sunday we light another candle. When we get to Christmas Eve we get to light the big candle in the middle and then we know that Christmas is the next day.

Well last year something amazing happened during Advent. I was actually listening to the words of the pastor (amazing, I know, I’m only 8!). And he said that we can prepare for Christ to come into our hearts at Christmas time by doing the things that Christ did when he was alive on earth. He said that Jesus was doing things like feeding the hungry and caring for those without.

And that just gave me an idea. You see, I’m a growing boy and I like to eat. And Jesus was always eating with the people around him. There are lots of stories about Jesus feeding the people around him. His disciples, complete strangers, even little children. It seemed to me that Jesus spend a lot of time feeding people. And so I thought we should have a meal at the church on Christmas Eve – feed the hungry people and then invite them to church. I didn’t realize that this simple idea was going to cause so much of a fuss in my little church.

Well, I didn’t tell anyone about my idea until the Second Sunday of Advent.  And then I only remembered when we were lighting the second candle at church. So I told my mom about my brilliant idea – but she said not now. So I started to doodle and draw on the back of the bulletin and I came up with a poster for the free food before worship at church night. It seemed like a perfect idea in my head.

I went home and I made those posters. I even let my little sister color them in even though she can’t stay in the lines. I had my mom look up the address of the church and everything and when I showed her my work, my mom was impressed, but she just wasn’t sure it would work. She said that sometimes things happen in the church slowly – that different groups need to be involved – and that everyone was just too busy to make a church supper on the night of Christmas Eve happen. When she saw how disappointed I was, she at least agreed to talk to the pastor.

We met the pastor after worship after the 3^rd Sunday in Advent. And although he liked the spirit of the idea (“It’s always good to want to help people, Jack!” Pastor reassured me.) He just didn’t think there was any way we could pull this off. We hadn’t talked to the mission team – and they are always involved when there is outreach. And we hadn’t talked to the session – they have to approve new ideas like this. And the kitchen ladies have to be involved early because nothing happens in the kitchen without their explicit approval. “Good idea. No, Jack – great idea. But not this year. Not this year.” I think he made my mother a little mad, because she said, we will see about that, pastor. And she had that look in her eye. You know the look. All moms have one.

The next week, she helped my make posters and we hung them up all over town – especially in the places where people in need are more likely to be. We walked the streets of town putting our posters up. And at home at night Mom started to make phone calls to her friends. She had been a member of the church for a long time. She was working so hard on this that even my Dad noticed and asked what kind of trouble we were getting into. He seemed to like the idea that we were doing something without the pastor’s approval. I didn’t realize that people were taking sides – some for the dinner and some against the dinnet.

On the 4^th Sunday of Advent – just a few days before Christmas Eve – the church was buzzing with excitement. The pastor asked my mother and I to come into his office to talk. He had found a couple of our posters around town and wanted to know the story. My mom explained that the birth of Jesus Christ was about sharing God’s love – and that her son – that’s me – wanted to show love by feeding people. The pastor wanted to know what kinds of plans were made and what kind of approval she had. Does the session know about this? What about the Deacons – they are always in charge of food? Does the mission committee or the evangelism committee know about this? He had question after question about how we had planned this backwards and it wasn’t going to work. He looked a bit tired, but mom said that’s because preachers work hard during Advent and getting ready for Christmas.

He didn’t exactly give us his blessing and he admitted that he was more than a little skeptical but he could see just how determined my mother was. She quickly assured him that everything would be fine, that God would bless this meal, and that the Holy Spirit might even show up in our church on Christmas Eve. I’m not sure the preacher knew what to say about that!

Before I knew it, it was Christmas Eve. Church service weren’t till later – when it was properly dark so that the shepherds can see the star and the baby Jesus can be born at night in the manger.

My mother and I and my two sisters went to church early in the afternoon. I thought it was odd that we only had 2 onions and a bag of carrots. Mom went into the kitchen and began to chop the onions and the carrots. Soon another lady from church came – and she had the celery and a can of broth. They got out the big pot and began to cook the onions, mix in the carrots, and stir in the broth. Every little bit another member of the church would show up – with some potatoes, a bit of meat, some herbs and seasons. Even the men’s group president showed up with 6 dozen cookies from the local grocery. Pretty soon the church kitchen smelled like supper. Everytime I turned around someone was bringing a bit of this or that. Mrs. Smith brought her homemade bread. Mr. Jones brought some store bought rolls.  There was a buzz of excitement in the place.

About an hour before church began, the pastor showed up, and with him several people I had never seen before. He said they were waiting outside looking for the food.

We began to serve. We begin to eat and soon the hall was filled with the sounds of pleasant 

conversation, of laughter and story-telling. I even saw the preacher look around all misty eyed at the fellowship around him.

And then I saw my dad enter the back. By the looks of it he had showered and shaved and put on his nice shirt. He winked at me and smiled and said he didn’t want to miss what happened to the trouble makers. We grabbed a bowl of stew and found a seat and ate together as a family. I couldn’t believe that we are all together on Christmas Eve.

That night at church, the pastor set aside his notes and said that he had a different message to share tonight. He wanted to say that the church is better when we are together – working together towards a common goal of sharing God’s love. He said that Jack, that’s me, had taught him that. He said that he loved the idea that Christmas Eve happens shortly after the winter solstice – the longest night of the year because the earth is just now beginning to lean into the light. He said that he saw all of us today lean into the light by working together and sharing God’s love.

That was the best Christmas I’ve ever had. I can’t remember what present I got last year – but I do know that I was a part of a group of people who leaned into the light together. 

Amen and amen.

Come and See! Go and Tell!

...the angel said...."Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead...'" Matthew 28, parts of verses 6 and 7.

Matthew's version is, at least in my mind, the most terrifying description of the resurrection of Jesus. Is it any wonder that the first words the angel says to the two women who came to look at the tomb are: "Be not afraid"?
It is really a terrifying moment for those two women, the two Marys - Mary Magdalene and the other Mary who get up on that Sabbath day and go to see the tomb. Maybe they were trying to make sense out of what they had witnessed and experienced, namely the loss of Jesus. His brutal death, his sudden departure, the end of his earthly ministry....maybe they were trying to make sense of it all and to find some closure to these events; these powerful and profound events. And what happens to them at the tomb is terrifying.

First, the earthquake. Second, an angel rolls away the stone - an angel whose face is like lightning. Third, the guard faints from fear.

No wonder these women are afraid. Who wouldn't be? "Do not be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus. He is not here. He has been raised." There it is the Easter message. The one who was dead is now alive.

Do not be afraid. Words of comfort given to the terrified. Words of hope given to those who grieve and mourn.

But also, words of courage.

Do not be afraid. Come, see the place where he lay. Then Go, quickly and tell his disciples.

The message of the angel is one of courage in the face of death and uncertainty.

I'm captivated by the verbs in these message from the angel. Come and See. For many, we come to church on this Easter Sunday to see what God is up to, to see what God is doing, to see what our family of faith is all about. We come to see if the story is true. We come to be fed and to be filled. We come. We come because we have doubts and we come because we have faith. We come because we want to see the work of the risen Lord - some sure sign for our faith. But we cannot stay here. We must also Go! and Tell! all the world what Jesus has done for us. We must go and tell the story of the one who is not here - but is risen from the dead.

This is exactly what the two Mary's do. They come into the tomb and see that it is empty. And then they go to tell the disciples the news - the good news that Jesus has been raised. Their obedience to the angels message is described as a mixture of fear and joy.

Fear and Joy. This is also how we live out our discipleship, is it not? Fear and joy. We live in a world with a little bit of both, don't we? A little bit of fear - that this world is not always easy or right - and joy that this world is blessed beyond measure.

For example - fear for our children as they grow up in a world that is rapidly changing and whose values seem to be shifting and dangerous. And joy at what a blessing they are and what a blessing they might become.
Or...fear for our health as we struggle with the unknown, and joy in all that life has to offer us.
Fear for our jobs - are they secure? Will they be there? And joy at worthwhile work and colleagues along the way.
Fear of loved ones who struggle with illness - fear that we might lose them. That they might lose the fight. And joy in the gift that others bring us.
Fear about the future as the world changes. And joy about living in the present and enjoying each day; each time; each moment.
Or even - fear about Community Presbyterian Church and our outreach in the community and joy in our call to proclaim the gospel to our neighbors. Joy to come and see. Joy to go and tell others.
For the women at the tomb that day and for us - the announcement or resurrection doesn't take away their fear. Rather the announcement enables others to keep faith amid their fears.
My friends, we are called to share the good news about who we know and believe Jesus Christ to be in spite of our anxiety, in spite of knowing all the answers, in spite of our doubts and disbelief. This is the courage that our faith gives us - to see beyond sight.
The good news of our faith in Jesus Christ is this: Belief in Jesus Christ smooth out the rough places of your life - after all there was an earthquake that shook the very ground the women were standing on when they reached the tomb. Rather the good news is this - that faith in Jesus Christ gives us the courage to keep our feet firmly on the ground even as the tremors and turmoil of life threaten us. Our faith enables us to not just persevere - but also to thrive even when...especially when life is hard and challenging.
Today is a day of great joy. Look around you at this full church. The beauty of the sanctuary with the lilies up front. The smells of the pancake breakfast in the basement are still present. You all look good - in your Sunday best. It brings me joy to see this family of faith gathered here this day to hear the story again of Jesus being raised from the dead.
But I know that beneath the surface of the Easter dresses and new bow ties there are doubts and challenges for each of you. I know that just because it is Easter and you dressed up to celebrate today that the pain and suffering and doubt that you might harbor and hide doesn't go away. It is still there beneath the surface, beneath the Easter joy we project on a day like today. I know that life doesn't get any easier just because it's Easter Sunday.
But Jesus says to those who meet him today: "Be not afraid." And so I say to you, "Be not afraid."
For God's promise of life is stronger than death; God's promise of life is greater than hate; God's promise of mercy will overcome judgement. And all the sufferings of this world - as real and as painful as they are - do not have the final word this day.
Do not be afraid. Jesus is not here today. Come and See - the lilies, the church, the family of faith. Come and see signs of faith at work; signs of God's faithfulness to us in the past. But don't stay here, my friends. Go! Tell! Have courage to not be afraid in telling the world that Jesus lives. He has been raised. Go! Tell!

Amen? Amen.

Who Is This?

Dear Friends -

Yesterday's Gospel reading for Palm Sunday worship was Matthew 21:1-11. It tells the story of the festive parade that Jesus and his disciples experience as they enter into Jerusalem and officially kicks off holy week for the liturgical church.

In my sermon yesterday I focused on the crowd - especially those who are watching this palm-waving parade and see the country preacher on a donkey and ask, "Who Is This?" This is a question that all of us who claim to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior need to be able to answer. It is part of our story as a people of God.

Who Is This?

In the coming weeks I am going to be asking some of the members of Community Presbyterian Church to share their answers to this question during worship. But since I don't want to ask my people do to anything that I am not able to do myself, here is my answer.

Who Is This? This is Jesus, our Christ. He is my Lord and my Savior. He is my hope and my healer. Jesus is the one who has shown me - by his life and his death - about God and God's love. Because I know Jesus, I know how great and big and amazing is God's love. I know myself and I know just how short I fall from the glory that God intended for me. But I also know that in Jesus my past has been forgiven and redeemed. Because of Jesus my past does not shape my future - but my future belongs to God and I will follow (gladly and willingly!) into that future with God as my guide, leading me every step of the way. To know Jesus is to know how much God desires my life to be transformed into a life of love - where I am able to love, to forgive, and to share with others as Jesus has loved, forgiven, and shared with me.

Your turn. How would you answer the question - Who Is This?

Faithfully,
Pastor John

Transformative Community

Transformative Community. Is it possible?

It sounds pretty ambitious, but it's what I have been thinking about lately.
It started with a tweet I read (and I can't remember the source - but it stuck with me). I follow a lot of (surprising, I know!) clergy types and one of these folks tweeted something like: "Sermonizing at the local coffee shop and there are two church groups meeting. One doing a bible study, one doing a planning meeting. I know which church I'd rather be a part of!" The implication being that bible study is more appealing than planning/administration because it is intimate, more intentional, and discipleship making (and even transformative). Now don't get me wrong, I'm a Presbyterian Pastor so I love a good planning meeting...but, let's face it, those are seldom transformative and disciple-making, right?

I just concluded facilitating an adult bible study using a dvd called "Embracing an Adult Faith" that featured Marcus Borg reflecting and pontificating about his faith journey. I love Marcus Borg - but the adults attending the bible study were less than enamored with him! On the week we were talking about "Practices," Marcus Borg said something like - Christian practices at their best open us up to the deeper and broader reality of life in the spirit. And this opening leads to transformation. In other words, when we engage in the practice of prayer, we open ourselves to the realm of the Spirit, and this transforms us into something we weren't before. A new creation!"

Although I'm all for the practices of individual spirituality, I'm curious and excited to think about communal practices - practices done in a community of faith that open us up to the reality of God and the work of the Holy Spirit that transform us together - so that we are different - new creations - the church that God intends us to be.

And of course, Easter is fast approaching so I am thinking about that story again and trying to re-tell is in a way that makes us different. Jesus is alive - a new creation. How does this affect our communities? Our practices? How does this transform us?

To find out more, I guess you'll have to come to church on Easter.

An invitation to keep a holy lent.

An Ash Wednesday Meditation; preached to the congregation gathered at Community Presbyterian Church in Plainview, Minnesota on Wednesday, March 5, 2014. Blessings - John

Today we gather to worship and commence the season of Lent. The next 40 days are set aside in the life of the church as a time of reflection and a time of repentance. Much as Advent is a time to prepare for Christ to be born again, Lent is also a time of preparation. We are preparing internally – our hearts, our minds, and our souls for the season of Easter and of new life. The truth about the resurrection is this – that in order for something to be born again and to live again, something must first die. And so we gather to reflect on that part of our self that needs to die, namely the sin, the stumbling blocks, the things that keep us from living the life that God intends for us to be living.

For many the season of Lent involves giving something up. I’ve been known incorporate this practice into my own personal spirituality. There is a part of my that realizes that the season of Lent has deep meaning in the life of the church and little impact in the life of the world. And because Easter is such a big deal to the story of our faith – then I want Lent to be something that disrupts my routine so much that I am ready to pay attention to the signs of new life around me. And so I’ve been known to give up things like caffeine…or television…some give up Facebook for Lent. One year, I gave up driving for 40 days. Maybe you have tried something similar.

There has been a counter trend in some Christian circles of instead of giving up something for Lent, folks have chosen to add something that adds value to the spiritual life. A time of daily prayer or a memory verse each day.

There are many ways to engage in the life of the spirit during the Lenten season – but I encourage you to take advantage of the season of the church year to deepen you relationship with God. If it involves giving something up to make this relationship more meaningful, I encourage you to give it up – and I’d love to hear your story. If it involves adding something to make this relationship more meaningful, than I encourage you to add to your life – and then tell me those stories as well.

But what I want most for you this Lenten season is that you reflect on the things that matter most – namely your relationships – with God and with one another. There are many ways to be during Lent. Matthew’s gospel lifts up a few things that Jesus expects his followers to do and helps focus them by lifting up the motivations that people have.

There is a bit of irony in the passage today. I get that Jesus is telling us to avoid showing of our deep levels of piety….and then later on in the service we are going to mark ourselves with ashes and leave this sanctuary bearing the sign of the cross on our foreheads. Seems like a pretty public display of our faith to me, does it not?

However, I think the idea that Jesus is telling is that we should not practice our faith only so that others might notice them. In other words, we aren’t here tonight to worship so that we can be seen by others as deeply religious. Or at least we shouldn’t be. We are here tonight in worship to mark the beginning of the Lenten season, a time of reflection and repentance. I used to be really into giving things up for Lent because I wanted it to be such a big disruption that I would notince when Easter came…the great disruption of our faith. In a world of instant gratification it is important to be able to slow down and wait for something important. (The problem with instant gratification is that it takes to long).

The text from Matthew, chapter 6 offers to us three ways in which we the people of his time practiced their faith – and they are important enough that I offer them up to you as ways in which you might engage your faith at a deeper level. Jesus offers a framework for us…but it is up to us to put them into practice. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “If you….” Or “When you begin…” Jesus says – “Whenever you….” In other words, Jesus is assuming that these practices of the ancient Jewish tradition are our practices as well. There is the implication that we will be givers – prayers – fasters. Jesus is simply giving a better way to do these disciplines by correcting the motivation his followers have for doing them.

In part, what Jesus is doing is setting priorities straight and helping us make better choices in the way our faith is lived out.  The first practice Jesus deals with is giving. Being generous with what we have. Throughout the Old Testament there is an ethic and a concern for such social structures as debt forgiveness, fair treatment of works, just distribution of crops and of land, and of interest-free loans – all of which is designed to prevent poverty among God’s people. However, in Jesus’ day, the practices of the rich and the wealthy – the “haves” were often oppressive and left many “the have nots” struggling just to survive. Jesus expects those who listen to him and follow in his ways to show mercy to the poor by being generous in giving. In other words, God desires justice – the right treatment of all, but when the world is unjust, those who are able and who are merciful must protect those who are without.

The truly merciful, however, do not call public attention to their acts of mercy. Jesus refers to those who sound a trumpet before them when they make a generous donation. It’s a rather humorous hyperbole of the ways in which givers make sure that they are noticed. Don’t be like this, Jesus says. Give, but don’t draw attention to yourself. Not only because it draws attention to yourself, but it draws attention to those in need, who are unable to give.

Jesus then turns to prayer and looks at the motives of the people who are doing the praying. It’s not that he is against prayer – formal prayer, corporate prayer. Later on in Matthew’s gospel Jesus will teach the disciples the Lord’s prayer which we still use each week in worship. Jesus offers us the Lord’s Prayer as a model to memorize and to use. Jesus calls us to be critical of examining our motives for prayer – the why and the how we prayer.

Genuine prayer is not grand drama and theatre. It is simply a conversation. If I wanted to tell my mother, I love you, I wouldn’t necessarily shout it on Broadway over the lunch hour. I would most likely hug her and whisper in her ear these words. Such is prayer, says Jesus. Intimate conversations with our heavenly parent – not staged acts to dazzle with our big words. Real love – nurtured in prayer – focuses on the beloved, not the onlookers.

Then Jesus turns to commands about fasting. As before, Jesus warns against practicing this as a way to gain praise from other people. Fasting that wins God’s approval is inconspicuous. The person who fasts should look just like anyone else going about his or her normal business. Dressed and ready for the day.

 Jesus’ final words in today’s reading warn against “treasuring up treasures on earth.” In context “treasures” refers both to other peoples’ good opinions and to material goods. The Greek phrase used indicates that Jesus is telling his hearers to stop doing something they are already doing: Stop storing up treasures on earth, where they will be eaten away. Treasure up heavenly treasures instead. How can someone store up treasure in heaven? One way, according to Jesus, is by selling one’s goods and giving them to the poor (Matthew 19:21). If God’s approval is our greatest treasure, then we will direct our hearts and minds and wills to loving God and our neighbor. Then, indeed, we will have treasure in heaven.

The true treasure that we have in our life of faith is made most real in the relationships we have. In the cross there are two lines – one beam goes up and down – and can signify our relationship with God in heaven through Jesus Christ. This Lent practice something that deepens this relationship. There is another beam – a horizontal one – and this can signify our relationship with one another – especially with those who mean the most to us – our friends, our family, our community members. Make Lent be about nurturing this relationship as well.