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Forward Today: Shepherded by scripture

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Dear friends in Christ: While Scott is traveling this week, we bring you an excerpt from his book of meditations for Eastertide, Easter Triumph, Easter Joy. In this meditation, Scott reflects on the scripture texts for this coming Sunday, the Fourth Week of Easter.

Image from the catacomb of Domitilla shows one of the oldest known images of Jesus Christ as the good shepherd / Wikimedia Commons

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
—Psalm 23 (Authorized or King James Version)

I have strong memories from several funerals I led during my time as a parish priest. Most of my memories are of families gathered in the church to say goodbye to their loved ones and to hear a word of Easter hope.

One of these memories is from a service held at the funeral home. The family was barely connected to the church, but for whatever reason, they asked me to lead the service. They made it pretty clear they weren’t looking for anything “too churchy.”

I didn’t print out leaflets. When it was time for the service, I mostly read the burial office from our prayer book. Those ancient words offer, I think, just the right measure of sorrow and hope. Anyway, when it came time for the scriptures, I read a lesson and then said something like, “I’m going to read Psalm 23 aloud now. If you know the words, you are most welcome to join me.” Much to my surprise, when I started, nearly everyone in the room said this beloved psalm from memory.

I have had similar experiences at the bedsides of those near the end of life. Sometimes a person who is beyond the point of conversation will be silent in our prayers until I begin the Lord’s Prayer or Psalm 23. Then their lips move, praying along. Generation upon generation have been steeped in these words of liturgy and scripture that go all the way to the core.

But why Psalm 23? I think it is profoundly reassuring. God is our shepherd. When we need companionship, or protection, or guidance, God is there with us. When we face danger, God is there with us. Even at the end of our days, God is there with us.

I worry that in today’s church, we don’t do enough to encourage people to memorize scripture and prayer so deeply that it gets to our core. When people are in grave crisis or facing their own imminent mortality, how will they be equipped to meet these moments?

In our prayer and study, we prize novelty but at the cost of perseverance and immersion. I hope we can do a better job of balancing the two tensions. In my own life, I hope there are prayers and scriptures that go all the way to my core. I hope that’s true for you, too.

The Lord is truly our shepherd. But perhaps the Lord seeks to accompany us at times in the words of scripture. Let us all commit to loving scripture so much it shapes our hearts and our lives.

More from our ministry:

Pray the psalms and reflect on scripture each day: Forward Day by Day app

Embed scripture in everything to nurture spiritual growth: RenewalWorks

Read through the Bible through a new lens: The Way of Love Bible Challenge

Carry prayer with you wherever you go: Hour by Hour

 

Forward Today: Alleluia! What’s it to you?

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We welcome The Rev. Ryan Fleenor, member of Forward Movement’s board, as our guest author this week.

Photo by Pisit Heng on Unsplash

Dear friends in Christ,

I served for many years alongside an organist who taught me a great deal about what it means to serve God’s people and to gather them for prayer and praise. He was a deeply pious man— if also a bit quirky and irreverent in his humor. When he retired, the choir collected all his various aphorisms and quips into a song. It was hilarious. But my favorite was his typical Easter greeting. Throughout the 50 Days of Eastertide, whenever I’d run into him in the halls, he’d say with a wry smile: “Alleluia! What’s it to ya?”

“Alleluia? What’s it to ya?” This, I have come to believe, just might be the most important question we could ask ourselves in this holy season.

Each of the Gospels has an “Alleluia! What’s it to ya?” story—a story of the difference it makes that Christ has been raised from the dead. On Easter evening, we heard Luke’s story: the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus who felt their hearts burning within them as they walked alongside the risen Christ and came to recognize him in the breaking of the bread. Last Sunday, we heard one of John’s stories: the story of the risen Christ coming to reassure fearful, faithful Thomas that what he’s heard from the others is in fact true. And there are other wonderful stories too! Perhaps this Eastertide, consider making a spiritual practice of reading and meditating on the stories in Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20-21.

Alleluia! What’s it to you? Christ is alive! He lives to give us new life, rescuing us from the power of sin and death and empowering us for service in his kingdom. What difference does that make in your life?

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Ryan Fleenor
Forward Movement Board Member
Rector of Saint Luke’s Parish in Darien, CT

More from our ministry:

Easter meditations from Scott Gunn: Easter Triumph, Easter Joy

Reflect on Eastertide through art and writing at 50days.org

Take a close look at your own spiritual life: Vital Signs of Faith

Follow the stories of the Bible from beginning to end: The Path

Forward Today: My Lord and my God!

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Thomas the Apostle. Detail of the mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale. Ravena, Italy. Photo by Richard Mortel.

Dear friends in Christ,

Happy Easter! I hope your Easter season has begun with raucous joy. I don’t think it’s possible to have too much Easter joy.

This Sunday, we hear the story of St. Thomas the Apostle asking to see Jesus’ wounds. Sometimes we pejoratively call him Doubting Thomas, but I wish we’d call him Courageous Thomas or Good Question Thomas. After all, he had the courage to ask what others surely wondered.

It’s clear from the scriptures that those around Jesus had trouble making sense of the new reality in which Jesus was raised from the dead. And who can blame them? If I saw someone dead and buried and then ran into them on the street a couple days later, I’d question my sanity! Even though Jesus had been saying he would be raised on the third day, perhaps Jesus’s disciples quite understandably had trouble getting that idea into their minds.

To St. Thomas’s great credit, he moved from doubt to belief. Jesus did not condemn him, but rather showed him signs. And belief followed quickly: “My Lord and my God!”

If we ponder Easter for more than a few seconds, we might also find ourselves doubting. Can this really have happened? Did our Father raise his Son to new life? Are sin and evil really vanquished? If we doubt, we could follow St. Thomas’s example and ask questions. We might ask fellow members of the church, or we might go to God in prayer. And when we receive assurance that grace and mercy have triumphed, let us be quick to proclaim this glad news.

Easter is not for the faint of heart. It’s OK to admit that. But let us not stay in a place of murky doubt. For God has triumphed, and our world surely needs to hear this message.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Read Scott’s Easter meditations in ebook format: Kindle | Apple Books

Celebrate the whole season of Easter at 50days.org

Explore St. Thomas’s story in the Gospel of John: A Journey with John

Meet Jesus in the scriptures each day: Forward Day by Day

Forward Today: Encountering Jesus

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Light shines down on the edicule, the building holding Christ’s Tomb at Church of the Holy Sepulchre. (Photo: Scott Gunn)

Dear friends in Christ,

Starting tomorrow, the church observes the Triduum Sacrum, or the Three Holy Days. We gather to observe Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Eve. In these liturgies, we enter into the heart of the Christian story—into the heart of God’s love for us.

I sincerely hope you’ll make time to be in church all three days. It’s a big commitment, but it’s well worth it. If you’ve never tried it, this could be the year. I don’t think I’ve yet met a person who came to the whole set of liturgies with any regrets over their time.

In these observances, we see the whole picture. We see Jesus’ deep love of his friends. We see the desolation and betrayal as Jesus’ friends turn on him. We see agony and death. We see mystery and sorrow. Finally, we see ultimate joy as God’s love triumphs over sin, evil, and even death.

These are not just reminders of things that took place long ago, though that’s certainly part of what we do. These liturgies are promises of the depth of God’s love for us in this life and in the life to come.

If you know someone —Christian or not—who has not experienced these Three Holy Days, consider inviting them along for our holy pilgrimage into the heart of our faith.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

P.S. Easter is coming! If you are looking for a way to celebrate the fullness of Easter joy for the whole 50 day season, check out my latest book, Easter Triumph, Easter Joy.

More from our ministry:

Vote for this year’s Golden Halo winner at lentmadness.org

Keep vigil with this free download from Saint Augustine’s Prayer Book

Pray with us each day: prayer.forwardmovement.org

Forward Today: Entering into the story

Palm Sunday 2023 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Boise, ID

Dear friends in Christ: We welcome back Margaret Ellsworth, Forward Movement’s Marketing Coordinator, as our guest author this week.

Holy Week begins on Sunday. Clergy and church workers (and musicians, and coffee hour hosts, and the bulletin-folding crew) are getting ready for the busiest week of the church year.

For my part, I’m queuing up the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack, as is my personal lighthearted tradition. And I’m clearing my schedule so that I can experience as many of the extra services I can. I want to spend next week immersed in the Passion story. It’s a story that can sometimes feel overly familiar — we hear bits and pieces of it every single Sunday — but really participating in it, the way we get to in this week’s liturgies, never fails to make it new again.

Over the years, there have been various moments of the Holy Week journey that have resonated with me in different ways:

Some years, in times of deep personal grief and struggle, I’ve found myself weeping on Good Friday at the foot of the cross.

Other years I found myself most stirred by Maundy Thursday, as Jesus’ acts of tender service—sharing bread and wine, washing his friends’ feet—seemed to mirror my day-to-day life as a caregiver of small children.

And I’ll never forget the outdoor Easter Vigil service after lockdowns were lifted, the first time in over a year that our church gathered in person—where we rejoiced to be together around the Paschal fire.

Just as I have seen my own life reflected in the stories of the Passion, so too does Holy Week prepare me to see the Passion in my life throughout the year. In moments of grief or joy, humble service or raucous celebration, I hope I can call to mind what Jesus has done for me, not just as something I know by rote, but as something I have experienced with my whole self.

Holy Week sweeps us up into the great story into which we have been baptized, the better for us to hear the echoes of that story everywhere. May we take time to sink into that great story this week, and meet our Lord and Savior there.

Yours faithfully,

Margaret Ellsworth
Marketing Coordinator

More from our ministry:

Reflect throughout the season of Easter at 50Days.org

Meditations for Eastertide: Easter Triumph, Easter Joy

Enter the story through song and reflection: Face to the Rising Sun

A daily opportunity to reflect on scripture: Forward Day by Day

Forward Today: We wish to see Jesus

The central dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. (Photo by Scott Gunn)

Dear friends in Christ,

This Sunday, we’ll hear in the Gospel reading the story of a time when some Greeks approached Philip. “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” These non-Jews wanted to meet the Lord, for they had no doubt heard of his saving love and mighty deeds.

I love that they got right to the point. “We wish to see Jesus.”

Several years ago, I knew someone who was looking for a church. She’d been very involved in her church, and then she had to move to a new town. Because church mattered to her, she wanted to find a church in which to become involved. After several months, I ran into her. I asked her if she’d found a church. No, not yet. I asked her what she was looking for. “I just want to find a church where they’re talking about Jesus.”

It’s so simple. So obvious. And yet, there are plenty of churches that get so busy going through the motions of keeping the doors open, we forget to keep the main thing the main thing. Yes, of course, we Episcopalians mention Jesus in our liturgy. But do we talk about him at coffee hour? Do we share all the ways he is involved in our lives? Do we tell others how much we love him?

In our increasingly secular age, if someone darkens the door of your church, it’s probably for one reason only. They are looking for the living and true God. They want to know the Holy Spirit’s power. They want to see Jesus.

How would your church do? Would people hear you talking about Jesus at coffee hour? Are people sharing their yearning for God’s peace? Do people express their love for God and neighbor? Would every guest and every long-time member say, as they walk out the door on Sunday morning, “I’m so glad I was at church today. I met Jesus”?

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Prepare to celebrate the resurrection: Get your Easter calendar today

Easter devotions from Scott Gunn: Easter Triumph, Easter Joy

Help your church get back to basics with RenewalWorks

Meet Jesus in Scripture: A Journey with Mark

Forward Today: The most important thing

Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea

Dear friends in Christ,

This spring has been a whirlwind of travel for me. It’s vestry retreat and Lenten retreat season, so I’ve been visiting congregations far and near.

Last weekend, I was visiting the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, where I preached and led a Lenten retreat. If you are near there, I highly recommend visiting this stunningly beautiful church. But the impressive architecture and glorious gardens are not even the most impressive thing. The church is bursting with ministries. The Spirit is alive there.

There are a lot of reasons why this church is thriving, but some of the reasons are in common with many other churches that are seeing numerical growth and spiritual vitality. Churches that focus on compelling preaching, excellent liturgy, learning for all ages, and the encouragement of spiritual disciplines are often doing quite well.

In other words, churches thrive when they focus on the most important things: God’s love for us, our love for God, and the joy of sharing God’s love with the world.

How is your church doing? What is important there? I encourage you to have a look at Jay Sidebotham’s recent book on spiritual vitality if you want some ideas for how to help spiritual growth take root in your congregation.

By the way, if you want to hear my sermon from Bethesda, have a listen. I preached about exactly this topic, which is why it’s on my mind. The most important thing is love.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

P.S. The rector at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea is the Rev. Tim Schenck. He’s doing a great job, and I am blessed to count him as a friend. If you want to savor some of his wisdom, check out his latest book: Devotions for People Who Don’t Do Devotions.

More from our ministry:

Simple practices for spiritual living: The Way of Love Practical Guide

Get ready for Easter with Scott’s book: Easter Triumph, Easter Joy

Build scripture and prayer into your daily routine: Forward Day by Day

FREE curriculum & companion book: Walk in Love | Practicing Our Faith

 

Forward Today: The gift of Lent

Dear friends in Christ,

As I write this, voting is under way in today’s Lent Madness contest. For those who aren’t familiar with it, Lent Madness is a mostly silly game in which 32 saints go up against each other as voters decide who wins the Golden Halo. Among other things, voters end up learning about each of these many saints as they make their choices of who to support. When we see how God has worked in the lives of so many different kinds of people, we begin to see that God could work in our lives, too.

I mention this, because Lent Madness is not exactly what one might conjure up when asked to imagine a Lenten devotion or habit. It’s too… fun. And yet it does the job. The point of Lent is not to be miserable. The point of Lent is to grow closer to God.

Perhaps you are well on your way through this sacred season with a solid plan that you’ve kept up with. You might have chosen to give something up or take something on. I hope your practice is bearing fruit.

Maybe you “failed” your Lenten plan, or you just never got around to deciding how to observe this holy time, it’s not too late. With Jesus, it’s never too late!

If you want something on the lighter side, give Lent Madness a try. Or maybe try reading Forward Day by Day (online, for free) for the rest of the season. The classic practices of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Picking one or more of those three will serve you well.

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Pray the Daily Office wherever you are with our daily podcasts

Make free resources like Lent Madness possible: Become a donor today

Explore the words of our ancestors in faith: Bible Women

Practices of prayer for any season: Seek and You Will Find

Q&A with the Rev. Tim Schenck

You may know the Rev. Tim Schenck as one half of the Supreme Executive Committee— he’s the creator of the wildly popular online devotion Lent Madness. In addition to filming Monday Madness videos and creating saintly brackets, Tim is also the rector of the Church of Bethesda by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, and the author of books full of humor and faith. His latest release, Devotions for People who Don’t Do Devotions, is available now from Forward Movement.

Get to know Tim a little better – and explore his unconventional devotional book!

Where did the idea for this book come from?

The whole concept for this book, and the title in particular, is rooted in my own frustration with so many devotional books out there. There are times for contemplation and spiritual navel gazing, but I also think we need to engage our faith on a practical, real life level. I find that’s often missing in the devotional industrial complex.

As I write in the Introduction, “Maybe it’s the saccharine sweet, holier-than-thou tone of most of the devotionals I’ve browsed in the Religion & Spirituality section at Barnes & Noble. Okay, most of those were put out by Joel Osteen, Inc. But still, there’s a Ned Flanders-esque vibe to many spiritual books that leaves you wondering if the people who write them even inhabit the same planet. And surely that’s not helpful for those of us seeking the divine presence in the midst of our daily lives.”

What is your hope for this book?

Ultimately, I hope that people will buy it. Just kidding. I hope that people will relate to the personal stories I share, and that they’ll see themselves and their own experiences in what I write. Like any good sermon illustration, you should be able to find something relatable that touches something deep in your own soul — not that the book is preachy or anything…

But I also really hope people engage the book in groups. There are reflection questions following each devotion and I’d love to hear that people are building community by reading the book together. Loneliness is such a spiritual burden and here’s an accessible, fun opportunity to gather and go deeper with one another.

You’re well-known to many of our readers as one of the faces behind Lent Madness, our Lenten bracket challenge featuring various saints. How is writing devotional books like this one similar to – or different from – working on Lent Madness?

Well, I like to think that I bring a bit of that Lent Madness humor to my writing. With Lent Madness, and in my own ministry in general, I always seek to take my faith, but not myself, too seriously. You can speak deep spiritual truths without being grim.

Also, there’s less voting involved!

Where do you typically write?

Coffee shops! I do all my sermon writing, book writing, pretty much any kind of writing with the accompaniment of a good cup of single-origin black coffee. I hear there are other ways to write, but I haven’t come across them.

What was the most enjoyable part of writing?

Hitting send on the manuscript email to the editor! Sort of kidding. But writing is hard, often gut-wrenching work, that you put your whole being into. I love to write, but it’s never an easy process. This is my fifth book, and after each one, I swear I’ll never write another one. Which I stick with…until I get another dose of inspiration.

But the most enjoyable part of writing this particular book, was reflecting back on situations and encounters and experiences from my life and viewing them anew through a spiritual lens. It’s always a fruitful exercise.

Do you have a favorite prayer?

That’s like asking a preacher if they have a favorite Bible verse. Or a coffee snob if they have a favorite coffee. But I’ll have to go with one from Compline that I pray most nights, one that I’ve concluded every vestry meeting I’ve led over the past 20+ years:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the afflicted, shield the joyous, and all for your love’s sake. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, page 134)

How can folks support Lent Madness and all the other accessible spiritual practices that Forward Movement offers?

Consider becoming a donor today! Donations power Forward Movement’s variety of ministry resources, from RenewalWorks to The Good Book Club and seasonal offerings like AdventWord and Lent Madness. Help us inspire disciples and empower evangelists every day!

Forward Today: The world, or your life?

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Photo by Adriel Kloppenburg on Unsplash

Dear friends in Christ,

This Sunday’s Gospel brings a challenging message from Jesus. Among other things, Jesus says, “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?”

Wow. That’s rough. But it makes total sense. If all I worry about is protecting myself, I end up closing myself off from opportunities for God’s grace to work in my life and, through me, in the world. It makes everything about me. But if I can make everything about God’s grace and mercy, I begin to live a life that is steeped in gratitude and overflowing with love.

Jesus says we have to choose whether riches are more important to us than living an abundant, joyful life. If I spend my life chasing earthly things, I will almost certainly miss out an knowing heavenly things. Focusing on stuff leads me to lose my soul for the sake of… not much, really.

But when we make God’s grace and mercy the core of our being, we discover gratitude beyond our imagining. And we cannot help but spill over with mercy and grace for the world around us. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is truly astounding.

This season of Lent offers us the gift of a time to focus on what’s important. Perhaps we first need a reminder so we notice what’s important! And then we can try to live the life to which Jesus calls us—rooted in gratitude, grace, and mercy.

I hope you’ll join me in asking the big question. What’s most important? Chasing worldly things? Or seeking heavenly things?

Yours faithfully,

Scott Gunn's signature

Scott Gunn
Executive Director

More from our ministry:

Explore this gospel text: A Journey with Mark

Hear from churches focusing on what’s important: Signs of Life

Reset your approach to money and faith: The Unjust Steward

Start your day with scripture and prayer: Forward Day by Day