So on the way to work (in my car), I was sitting at the stop light just outside my apartment complex. A guy rode by on his bike. A few red lights later, the guy on the bike was passing me again. There are six stop lights in less than two miles from my place to work, and four out of the six are usually red when I get to them. Red lights annoy me. Sometimes I think taking the bike is quicker, as I was now witnessing.

I’m not sure I would have noticed the guy on the bike if it hadn’t been for my flat tire experience. I have to admit, some days I dislike the inconvenience of riding the bike to work (or dealing with the flat tire), but without those frustrations I wouldn’t have maybe noticed another human being riding a bike, and I wouldn’t have appreciated my car so much (didn’t I say red lights while driving my car bothered me too?).

I guess I’m learning to notice the little things. To appreciate life. Isn’t that what God wants from me? To love what he has created? Maybe that’s the point of Lent.

Well, it’s almost over.

While it’s encouraging to hear these responses, I’m reminded of the message from our Ash Wednesday Service (which also addresses the definition of Lent).

Pastor Al’s Ash Wednesday Message
If you missed the message, you can listen to it by clicking here. It’s only 12 minutes and 27 seconds long. Do it. Here are a few quotes and paraphrases from it (also, read Matt 6:1-6, 16-21 for the context).

“Jesus tells us to be careful. Not about the dangers of the world, but the danger that lurks within. It’s tempting to seek the praise of others – to be good, to be right, or to be powerful. He isn’t warning us not to break the 10 commandments, he’s warning us to the temptation of doing good. Acts of charity, fasting, prayer – things we associate with the season of Lent; holy activities.”

I’m being warned about…charity, fasting, and prayer? If you read the passage in Matt 6 Jesus basically says not to do these things so others notice you doing them, thus praising you for your good work. Rather, do them in private and God will see your good works. Hmm, kinda makes blogging about what I’m doing for Lent look like a bad idea.

Don’t judge me.

The message continues, “Jesus wants to look beyond the actions, to the heart of the act.”

“Rather than to judge others, this is a time to do self-examination. Charity, fasting, prayer – a means to dive into our soul. Push aside the things that distract us. We come a little bit closer to the heart of God.”

“Not out of duty or obligation, or to prove to others our faith. Jesus comes to us with compassion because he understands just how much we want others to see us doing good. And he offers us these words so that by engaging in these actions, we’ll come to know our soul and have a window into the heart of God. We’ll see the face of God in those who are with us in this journey.”

What does this all mean?
If Lent isn’t about certain actions, but rather about the heart, then how does giving up chocolate for Lent become more about my heart than the act? Or how does riding a bike instead of driving my car encourage me to dive into my soul? How does any of that help me grow close to the heart of God? Am I doing these things just to look good to others (“Dave, it’s awesome that you’re riding a bike to work”)? Am I doing them because I’m a Lutheran and it’s what I’m supposed to do during Lent? Or is it pushing aside the distractions, allowing me to honestly examine my soul? Do I really take time to do this in my life?

Sorry, just a lot of questions here. I’m still trying to figure out the answers.

More on that, soon.

My sister-in-law and a friend were in town this past week and they suggested (maybe jokingly) that I give up my car for Lent. The conversation led to some ideas about simply riding a bike to work (it’s only 2 miles) and blogging about my experiences during the 40 days. It could be funny (like pull a radio flyer wagon full of groceries, while wearing spandex) or serious (use it to teach about the meaning of Lent).

Well, courtesy of the Tremose crew, I got a bike. And today I rode it to work, which only took me 9 minutes (sometimes it takes longer to drive). I can’t say at this point that I’m sure of what I will share through the blog, but I’ll try to give a little insight into the Lenten journey. I’ll attempt to answer the question, why am I riding a bike? Stay tuned.

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But I love those moments where you actually see that happen to somebody else because you realize how foolish it is. I’m thinking, “Dude are you serious? This guy hesitates for 2 seconds and you gotta blast your horn at him?” Then, in that moment I thought of a great invention. Cars should come installed with a taser feature. Every time you use your horn, you get tased (that would be awesome to see). I think that would help keep things in check. Humans are a weird breed. I just have to laugh at how we treat each other sometimes. I could go into a big sermon here, but I can imagine you get my point.

Today, may I be considerate to others even when they cause me a little inconvenience. I’m thankful for those reminders. I’m also thankful that MY car didn’t come installed with the taser feature. Happy driving.

I was watching the movie Despicable Me (which I thought was a very good movie, especially now as I reflect back on it) when out of no where I received a text from David, a youth that had previously attended our church. I hadn’t seen him for 6 months or so.

Now, go back with me “6 months or so” earlier to that moment when I saw David. At that point in time, I hadn’t seen him for probably a year or maybe longer. So it was random that I saw him. We caught up on life for a few minutes and I gave him my number; told him to call if he ever wanted to hang out. As it turns out, this was clearly a significant moment in time because he would take me up on my offer.

Which brings us back to today. His text message was an invitation to come watch a basketball game he’d be playing in the next night. He was very proud that he had made the varsity team and thought enough of me that he wanted me to be there. I thought it was pretty cool that he wanted me to attend his game. After all, I was this apparently insignificant person in his life due to the fact that I never see him, or so I thought. But it wasn’t until the next day that I realized the depth of what had just happened.

The next morning when I got to the office, Patty (who is closely connected with David’s family) greeted me with such excitement. She said something to the effect of, “You must feel so encouraged huh? You deserve it! I felt so proud of the relationship that you have developed with him, that he would invite you to his game. You really have made an impact on his life.”

Wow. It was very encouraging to hear those words. And it was in that moment that it hit me: these “moments” make the difficult times worthwhile. I can remember times when David didn’t really seem to care about what I had to say. But without spending that time together, without being there for him week in and week out while he’s in my life, without continuing to offer that invitation to hang out even when I randomly run into him after he had apparently left my life, I don’t always experience the fullness of what life has to offer. No, without those difficult moments I can’t always experience the good moments. Maybe that’s what Jesus meant when he said, “In this world you will have trouble, but I give you my peace” (John 16). I think there’s a lot of wisdom you can learn from this, if you haven’t already.

I like those moments where you randomly see people you haven’t seen in awhile. And I like when those moments turn into something bigger. I’ve always thought “God Moments” are weird. Is it really God working or do I just over-Christianify it (yes I made that word up)? I don’t know, but I do know that I was truly encouraged by what took place. Thank you, God for this simple moment in time. Thank you for allowing ME to have relationships like these!

The other day I was thinking, “Hmm…maybe I should start posting my God moments on the blog. That would be a simple way to not only share what God is doing in my life and in Peace youth ministry, but it would also be simple to do.” So, I’m going to give it a shot.

Let me begin with a definition. When we say “God moments,” we’re speaking of the Greek word Kairos. In Mark 1:15 we read, “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near.” One of the commentaries I use to study the bible says this about Mark 1:15:

“Jesus witnesses to God’s action by saying, ‘The time has come.’ Time here is not simply chronological time but the decisive time (kairos) for God’s action. With the coming of Jesus, God was doing something special.”

A God moment, then, is a time when God is literally acting, or moving in your life.

It’s not always easy to notice these moments on a weekly basis, but I’ve found you begin looking for them when you’re asked to share one every week. And they aren’t always good things either. Sometimes God is working through the rough parts of our lives.

Contemplating Sermon Thoughts

I’m going to begin with a simple God moment from this past year that I happened to take a picture of. This is Jessi (you can tell from the Ninja Turtle hat). It was taken in February at the Ash Wednesday Service. Jessi was reading her bible and writing down some thoughts from Pastor Al’s message. Honestly, sometimes it’s easy for me to feel like nothing I do really matters. Sometimes I feel like no one really gives much thought to my messages, or to the conversations we have about who God is. Even though I believe whole-heartedly that God is working through the relationships being developed at Peace, it’s really cool and extremely encouraging to see such a simple act as this. Thank you Jessi.

Do you have any God moments you’d like to share? Hmm…maybe I need to get others posting on here as well. More to come!