Introduction

This article is the June 2010 installment of my monthly message in the parish newsletter for Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Beatrice, Neb.

A Change of Seasons

Flipping the calendar’s pages from May to June brings several changes of seasons—school ends and summer begins; the church year moves from the Easter season through Holy Trinity Sunday and then to ordinary time, the many Sundays after Pentecost; our parish’s ministries move into their summer patterns.

In a way, it’s a little like the change from December to January. That’s the traditional time for taking stock of one’s life, of making new beginnings. This month can work the same way for us. As we move into the season after Pentecost, we enter the time traditionally dedicated to focusing on the spreading of God’s Word, the growth of the Church, and on our maturation in the faith.

A Chance for Questions

So it’s a good time to take a step back from our lives and to ask some questions. Here are a few questions to guide your personal reflection. You can use these however works best for you. Some may find writing in a journal is a helpful way to focus. Others may find a partner in conversation. Others might make each question a beginning for a time of prayer.

+ Where have I felt God at work in my life?
+ What gifts have I received from God?
+ How is God calling me to use those gifts?
+ Whom do I know who does not believe in God?
+ How can I share my faith with others?
+ What cross is God calling me to carry?
+ Where does my faith lead to sacrifice?
+ What do I need to lift up to God in prayer?
+ Is God at the center or the edges of my life?

A Time for Reflection

One of the most powerful ways to help focus one’s spiritual life is through daily devotions. In many ways, making devotions a daily part of one’s life is a task of establishing a habit. This takes some discipline, some resolve to make a change in patterns to open up space in one’s life for a new action in the daily routine. This means that when and how devotions fit into life varies with each person.

I found that placing my devotions between two other firmly established habits helped me to make devotions part of my routine. I wake up every morning and I drink coffee each day as well. So two years ago, I tried spending some time in devotions after I woke up, but before I made that first cup of coffee. This has worked well for me. I’m not suggesting that everyone should do this, but that the notion of finding a way to commit to the discipline of devotions will bear fruit in your life.

A Pattern for Prayer

Once you decide to dedicate time in your life for devotions, the options for resources can overwhelm you. For the Christian, the Bible is the essential resource. A great place to start is with the Psalms. These texts have served as the prayerbook and the hymnal of God’s people for thousands of years. They will touch you with their tenderness, inspire you with their praise, shock you with their brutal honesty, and remind you of God’s lordship over every moment of life.

Our congregation provides several devotional booklets available quarterly on the rack in the narthex. Our hymnal, Lutheran Book of Worship, includes a variety of aids for devotions, including a schedule of daily Bible readings on p. 179. If you have access to the Internet, the options are just about endless. You can find out what readings are coming up in worship at www.elca.org/lectionary. And for example, another site, www.journeywithjesus.net, offers a mix of essays, book reviews, poetry, and reflections on the arts tied to the lectionary, our schedule for Sunday readings.
Please consider this message an invitation to start a habit or to renew an existing discipline. If you find a practice that works, let me know. I can gather and share the suggestions and wisdom of our congregation so that we all may grow together in our life of faith.

Blessings!

Pastor David Frye