In Search of Something Better

Good morning!  While getting ready for the day, I find that I am still riding high from last night's Ash Wednesday Service.  It was wonderful to be packed together in our beautiful sanctuary and to feel the Spirit of God among us.  While millions join the theme I will sing!  Indeed we did, and shall continue to do so.  Many thanks to Jeremy Mount, Christine Dodd, and Dave Marnell for their leadership during the worship hour.

Several folks came by to pick up their copy of Common Prayer last night after the service.  We have several copies left, and can always order more, so feel free to stop by if have not acquired one already.

In today's reading, the witness of Polycarp of Smyrna certainly stirs the imagination, but for me it is the opening line from Psalm 115 that sets the tone for the day.  Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory.  Immediately, I hark back to the New Testament lesson from last Sunday: For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as slaves for Jesus' sake (2 Cor. 4:5).  That, and the reminder that whatever he wills to do he does certainly puts things into perspective (Ps. 115:3).

Genesis 40 is terrific storytelling, is it not?  Stuck in the foreign dungeon as a servant to prisoners (does it get much lower?) Joseph is certainly in search of something more.  But he keeps his head about him, and his faith, which enables him to make the kind of moves that will evetually get the attention of the king.  I love the humanity of the tale.  When the chief baker saw that the interpretation (to his coworker) was favorable he cries, "me next!  Me next!"  Tell me how everything is going to work out for me too!  Kudos to Joseph for resisting the temptation to tell him what he wanted to hear, but speaking truth instead.  Joseph might have been in search of something more than his current situation, but not at the expense of his own integrity and faith.  I suspect God was pleased to honor the strength of his conviction in due time.  Such is the case for all who risk martyrdom, or so I am led to believe. 

Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give glory.

Carrying a similar theme, there is a passage from Hebrews 11 that jumps off the page at me.  Speaking of the faith of the patriarchs, it says, they confessed that they were strangers and foriegners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  How true!  When we speak about where we've been, without declaring that we wish to go back, then it must mean that we are in search of something new.  When we confess that our current surroundings are not our home, and humbly acknowledge ourselves to be strangers in a strange land, then we are prepared to receive a better offer.  When we are no longer satisfied with our own creations of circumstance, then we are free to pursue another life, another world, another home.  As it is, they desired a better country, that is, a heavenly one (11:16).

Notice the importance of confession, however.  Just as it is with the confession of sin, we cannot survive with one foot in the old life and one foot in the new.  It will tear you apart.  In order to pursue the new "city which is prepared" we must first be willing to become a stranger to the old.  As Jesus explains, If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own...but I have chosen you out of the world (John 15:19).

Hence, the beauty of the closing prayer for today:

Give us grace to live faithfully whatever the cost.