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> What Are You Asking? -March 2006
 


Tom Ehrich
Tom Ehrich

 
   

What are You asking?

Pastor, Author and Speaker Tom Ehrich responds to
your questions about God, faith and
living spiritually

Send us your questions


 

MARCH 2006


What is the real meaning of Palm Sunday? What relevance does it have to the church today?

Palm Sunday traditionally has two focal points. One is the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem just days before his arrest, trial and crucifixion. He was greeted with acclaim by residents, who placed branches of palm trees in his path, a sign of respect for an arriving messiah. Within a week, of course, the people of Jerusalem were making a different cry: “Crucify him!”

The other focal point is the reading of the Passion Gospel, the entire story of Jesus' final hours, beginning with his torment in the Garden of Gethsemane and concluding with his death on the cross and the placing of his body in a tomb.
Thus the day usually is known as the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday.

In many churches, the liturgy for that begins with an enactment of the procession into Jerusalem, with palm branches waved by worshipers. (Some of those branches will be saved until next year and then burned for use as the ashes on Ash Wednesday.) The Gospel reading for the day is the Passion Gospel (from Mark this year), sometimes in a dramatic reading by several readers, with the congregation taking the part of the Jerusalem mob.

Many consider this the most moving liturgy of the year. Its relevance is both to tell the story of “Christ crucified,” as Paul put it, without which the story of Easter has no meaning; and to call attention to our complicity in turning against Jesus.

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We are a Christian couple who met, married and raised a family in the United Church of Christ. Recently, we are troubled by the direction of the UCC, and our three grown daughters have converted to the Catholic Church. As a married couple, Christ has been at the center of our relationship and our family, but we now find ourselves without a church home. We have visited our daughters’ churches, but don't feel called to the Catholic faith, although we do find connection to much of the deeply rooted tradition of that church. We are researching the Episcopal Church and would appreciate your insights into our situation.

I urge you to consider both denomination and congregation. In the end, to paraphrase a famous comment about politics, “all religion is local.” That is, the quality of your religious experience will be determined largely by the pastor and people of a local congregation.

My own journey led me to seminary and ordination in the Episcopal Church. I have found that the Episcopal Church often serves as a middle ground for people: Protestant in its origins and theology, Catholic in its focus on liturgy, the sacraments and the traditional orders of ministry. Thus, depending on the congregation you choose, you will find strong preaching and Christian education, with a focus on Scripture, and a generally progressive attitude toward Biblical interpretation and theology. You also will find the Eucharist at the center of worship, with the traditional service music and familiar hymns. As in the Roman and Lutheran traditions, clergy wear traditional vestments, and the service tends to have a formal, but not usually stuffy, feel.

If you live in an urban area, you probably have several Episcopal parishes nearby. I urge you to visit several. Larger Episcopal parishes tend to be more formal and to offer better education programs, whereas smaller ones tend to have strong community life. It's all a matter of what you are seeking.

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What is holiness?

Holiness is a complex concept. It refers to the essence of God's being, not so much a single attribute but perhaps the sum of all attributes. Holiness suggests the power of God's presence (as when God appeared to Moses on Sinai), the “glory” (Greek: doxa) or aura of God's presence, the mystery of God when God is encountered, and the deep and hard-to-grasp nature of God as one who is both merciful and impatient with humanity, as one who has a special place in his heart for Israel and yet is God of all creation, as one who walks among the people and yet also awaits them on the mountain.

The holiness of God is both the majesty of God incarnate and the wonder of God beyond sight. Thus, one can walk into a “holy place,” like a quiet church, and feel caught up in something much larger than those walls and windows.

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I know that I should be willing to do what God asks before I know what it is that He wants me to do. And I am. But how do I know if it is God's will for me to do something or if it is just me wanting to do it? I've always longed to hear a big voice telling me, "This is what I want you to do." How can I tell the difference?

Discerning God's will is one of life's most difficult challenges. We believe in one whom we can't see. Holy Scripture is an important starting point. The path that Jesus walked is our model for the path we should walk. The question, “What would Jesus do?” might be overused, but it has some sound practical theology in it. If you read the parables of Jesus and teachings like the Sermon on the Mount, you will hear much of what you need to know. I also encourage you to read the prophets. They informed Jesus' faith, and they contain important teachings about justice and mercy.

Your second tool is prayer. While God probably won't utter a loud direction, the experience of prayer tends to humble us and open our minds to the new things God is doing. Discernment benefits also from conversation with others, especially people whose wisdom you respect.

In the end, you probably never can know for sure that God wants this or that course. In my experience, seeking God's will leads me always to confession, in which I ask forgiveness for failing to grasp what God wants and pledge to keep trying.

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I was abandoned with three children almost 10 years ago by my husband. I have not received any support since, and he has moved on and has a new family. I have tried to always put my faith in God, and every year I tell myself it will get better...but every year is just as hard financially, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I am alone, tired and sometimes scared. What do I have to do to have my prayers answered? I don’t want to be alone forever. Is God telling me “No, you will just have to keep struggling all your life” or am I just doing something wrong? I am starting to feel like I am just not good enough to have good things in my life.

First, you have my sympathy. As I'm sure you know by now, this sort of abandonment happens all too frequently. A marital breakup usually has more than one cause and more than one contributor. Even so, divorce needn't be destructive of ongoing life.

Second, God doesn't send us misfortune. God has other ways to teach us. Misfortune happens, and sometimes it keeps on happening long after we think it should end. In such an instance, God is your friend, your “guardian, guide and stay,” as the hymn puts it, not your tormentor. God isn't withholding relief just to keep you in turmoil.

Third, as I am sure you realize, your primary concern is for your children. If you are providing them with love and attention, and the personal security that can only come from a loving parent, then the absence of “good things” probably doesn't matter as much.

Finally, I hope you have found your way to a healthy faith community. Being alone, tired and scared can be much more tolerable in the presence of good Christian friends.

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My boyfriend and I have been dating for two years. He has asked my parents for permission to propose to me, but we are not yet engaged. Recently, a Godly couple that he knows and looks up to told him that they had a vision that he was not supposed to marry me but that he was supposed to marry someone else. He and I have been praying about this, but it just doesn't sit well with me. Will God use visions through other people to reveal his will for our lives?

I think marriage is a three-party deal: you, your partner, and God. Other people touch your lives—from parents to friends to strangers—but the couple form a bond between them, and together they approach God for guidance, strength and love.

Many people have opinions about how a couple approaches marriage. It starts early, during courtship and engagement, and continues through the wedding and on to childbirth. (Wait until you start getting unwanted advice on how to manage pregnancy, birth, naming and infancy.) Some will express their opinions in religious language. You are free to accept or to ignore their opinions. If God has something to say to you, God will use a means that you both can hear. I would trust your pastor's advice.

If your boyfriend is swayed by another couple's report of a vision, you might explore whether he is able to make up his own mind on things.

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What is the purpose or meaning of eating fish on Fridays during Lent?

One form of fasting in Lent (or at other times) is to refrain from eating meat. Hence the serving of fish as a non-meat meal. The point is self-denial. Those who eat fish all the time and rarely eat meat might want to undertake a different fast.

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I am an aide to a 12-year-old blind Palestinian Christian boy who asked me what the ashes on the forehead mean and what does Ash Wednesday mean. He goes to church rarely at an Orthodox Christian Church about 25 miles from where he lives. I have been a Christian in a relationship with Jesus since 1989, but wasn't sure what to tell him about Ash Wednesday. I have read the information on this site, but could you help me explain it to the little boy that I help? I would also like to talk to him about salvation and hopefully lead him in a prayer for his salvation. Could you offer any advice on this?

Ashes are an ancient part of repentance rituals, as mentioned several times in the Old Testament and practiced in other religions, as well. They were a sign of humbling oneself before God. The ashes used in Christian liturgies traditionally are made by burning palms saved from the previous year's Palm Sunday liturgy. The officiant places his or her thumb in the finely ground ashes, and then makes the sign of the cross on the worshiper's forehead. The cross, of course, refers to Jesus. The words used in imposing ashes are, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” or some variant. Those words refer to the creation story, when God made humanity out of earth.

This ceremony has several layers of meaning. But the heart of it is accepting one's humanity, acknowledging God as creator, confessing one's sins, asking God for forgiveness, and pledging to go forward in “newness of life.”

You ask about salvation. That means different things to different people. In my experience, salvation is something one “works out in fear and trembling,” as Paul put it, over a long period of time, perhaps even a lifetime. Salvation isn't a prize awarded for good behavior or for some act of conversion. It is a state of grace that develops over time as one accepts one's humanity, acknowledges God as creator, confesses sins, seeks forgiveness and promises to do better, with God's help.

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I had a convert ask me...when did Ash Wednesday start?

References to a “day of ashes” liturgy as the start of Lent can be found as early as the 8th Century.

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During an Ash Wednesday service, the priest said that Ash Wednesday is not the beginning of Lent, but it actually begins on this Sunday. I thought Ash Wednesday was officially the beginning of Lent and Sundays are excluded. Also, is Ash Wednesday a holy day of obligation?

Lent traditionally begins on Ash Wednesday and extends forty days, not including Sundays, when a certain easing of the fast was allowed. Six weeks of six days plus the four days starting with Ash Wednesday make up the forty days.

Holy days of obligation aren't my purview. Please consult your priest on that.

 

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Are you not supposed to eat meat during Lent? Why do we have a Lenten Season, and why does it last 40 days?

The Christian season of Lent (from an Old English word meaning “spring”) is the 40-day period before Easter. It covers six six-day weeks (Sundays technically aren't part of Lent), plus four days in the week of Ash Wednesday.

Why 40 days? Forty is a standard Biblical number meaning a long time, like the Hebrews' 40 years in the wilderness after the exodus, and Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness after his baptism. Those examples suggest a time of preparation. The wilderness wandering prepared the Hebrews to enter the promised land of Canaan. Jesus' time in the wilderness prepared him for a ministry as Messiah. Lent, then, was one of the Church's two seasons of preparation for baptism. The other was the season of Advent, which originally was 40 days leading up to Epiphany.

Lent traditionally ends with the sacrament of baptism on Easter Eve or on Easter Morning. The original aim was to use the 40 days for intensive preparation of candidates for baptism.

Nowadays, baptisms happen throughout the year. Lent has become a time for penitence and self-examination, study, and spiritual discipline. Perhaps the discipline most commonly associated with Lent is fasting, which can take many forms, such as giving up entire meals, or certain foods (like meat), or radically changing a diet, in order to be made mindful of one's humanity and of God's providence. One tradition was to stop using leavening during Lent. Hence on the day before Ash Wednesday, Christians observed “Fat Tuesday,” or Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, when the household would enjoy its last use of leavening until Easter Day.

Many churches use Lent as a time for study, offering special weekday programs. Some encourage fasting and other forms of spiritual discipline, such as confession and journaling. Most decorate their worship space somberly, with the color purple, perhaps excluding altar flowers and banners until Easter. Clergy wear purple stoles. The worship music tends to have a solemn tone. The word “Alleluia” typically is dropped from the liturgy until the grand opening of the Easter Liturgy, “Alleluia! Christ is risen!”

The final week of Lent is known as “Holy Week.” It begins with Palm Sunday, remembering Jesus' entry into Jerusalem just before his Passion. Maundy Thursday remembers the Last Supper at which Jesus fed his disciples on the night before he died and washed their feet. Good Friday remembers the day Jesus was crucified to death. Holy Saturday remembers the time of waiting while the body of Jesus lay in the tomb. Lent ends either with the Great Easter Vigil on Easter Eve, or with the Easter Day service, sometimes held at sunrise.

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Does God have the right to judge us?

Yes, God can do whatever God wants. Scripture is clear that God cares about what we do and, for that reason, judges us. The nature of that judgment is what matters. One unfortunate image of God as judge sets God high on a courtroom bench, looking sourly and harshly at humanity, and passing out convictions with dire punishments or acquittals. Another unfortunate image has God sweeping down like an avenging angel to destroy those who offend and to reward those who obey.

I think God's judgment is more like the loving and firm discernment of a parent. The Bible describes God as merciful and compassionate, patient, and steadfast. At the same time, God sees and knows us, and, like a wise parent, God isn't fooled by our bluster and excuses. Nor is God manipulated by our cleverness. God nudges us toward goodness. Judgment, then, is that process by which God sees us as we are and enables us to see ourselves, as well. Love and goodness must be chosen, not compelled.

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How do we unify faith, religion, and spirituality?

Let's be clear, first, about what those terms mean.

Faith refers to our human response to God, in which we accept God's existence, trust in God's goodness and mercy, ask for God's help, pledge to serve as best we can, and all without actually seeing God.

Religion refers to the institutionalization of faith responses. Religion concerns practices, such as worship and hymns; structures, such as ministries and denominations; and ways of managing organizational affairs, such as protocols and rules. Finally, spirituality refers to the various forms that response to God typically takes, such as prayer, song, worship, study, fasting, and other disciplines.

A healthy faith community will keep all three elements lively and in balance. People will believe; from their belief they will serve within and on behalf of the organization, and they will nourish their faith through spiritual disciplines.

I don't think the word “unify” applies to these three distinct elements in the sense of making them one, but it certainly does apply to each element as essential to balance. For example, Jesus called believers to be one, that is, to have each other's interests in mind. Faith will draw people together, as each seeks to know and serve God through love of neighbor. The institution will have unity, in embracing the diversity represented by these believers and in enabling them to be together in harmony. The spiritual disciplines will have unity in the sense of working together for the common good.

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How can I explain being saved to my young girls? They are 4 and 8 years old. We worship weekly, pray daily, and they know God.
How can I know they are saved before taking serious steps such as communion and baptism?

“Being saved” means different things in different traditions. In some, salvation is a moment in time—a once-for-all experience—that one seeks and can name. In some it is a condition of grace that one reaches through certain steps and then shows by the way one lives. In some, being saved has to do with church identity—being part of a certain Christian denomination, for example. And in some, salvation is a lifelong process that begins in infancy and continues on until death, with certain formal milestones, like baptism and confirmation, and numerous serendipitous formative experiences like an intense spiritual encounter, a need for healing, a life-changing event like warfare.

I don't believe there is a right or wrong to this, but rather a decision that a believer makes to follow a certain path because it seems to make sense. For that reason, I encourage you to raise this question with the pastor in your Christian tradition. My advice would be to tell your children what you know about God and ask them what they know, and then to engage in disciplines of worship and service. Along the way, their faith will deepen. To me, that is the point. Your pastor might think differently. I encourage you to inquire.

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To learn more about Tom Ehrich’s writings, visit www.onajourney.org.
 


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