Continuing Bonds - Our Legacy as Christians

What a “ride” this Lent has been for me with our 2014 Lenten theme: “If I Only Had Six Weeks to Live...," especially a chance to reaffirm my faith through continuing bonds with people who are important to me and with my understanding of God and Jesus who is in the fullness of God. 

Immediately after our weekly noon Lenten services, I have enjoyed facilitating a discussion on the meaning of our Lenten worship, including: the bell rung to call us to worship; personal stories shared by congregational members; meditations offered by one of our pastors; prayers and hymns; followed by a range of topics that emerged in a small group discussion in the adult education area on the meaning of dying and death.

For some of us there are “bucket list” items. Options for planning our own funeral or memorial service and making it easier on our loved ones, and the vital importance of completing a financial will and an ADVANCE DIRECTIVE (i.e., a “living will” and “power of attorney for health care”), were stressed. We also shared personal experiences we have had with dying relatives as well as some of the “continuing bonds” we maintain with them in the months and years to follow. 

A chance to share and compare life stories has a healing element and may even be an encouragement to complete an advance directive, as have so many in La Crosse...a national model of advance care planning! 

And then came an invitation to speak at Seekers Bible Study just last week on “The Meaning of Jesus.” I accepted and promptly edited the title to “The MEANINGS of Jesus” because our understanding of our Christian faith continues to emerge as we learn how to become active listeners in honoring our neighbors faith. 

Consider, for instance, how some of us “see” Christ-meanings in so many verses of the Old Testament text, while others of us do the reverse and “see” the meaning of Jesus life in the traditional Jewish cultural and religious setting of his time. Given this confusion, are we surprised that still others of us prefer to “see” the Spirit of God and the life of Jesus through personal devotional and meditative practices? 

And if this is not enough to ask... dare we acknowledge that each of us may well construct our own “meaning” when we think about, feel connected to, and act on the call of Jesus who is the center of our Christian faith? As Marcus Borg suggests, a faith that is rooted in basic trust in God who undergirds us; a faith that holds fidelity to Jesus and the Bible as the center of our Christian faith; and a faith that visions all of creation and the meaning of our lives as a way of being one with God, of loving God and all that God loves.

Being a Christian means to me that I integrate both of these worlds of experience - the meaning of dying and death AND the meaning of Jesus - as I continue to seek ways of being a whole person of faith in today's world.

So, Lent has been a real “trip” for me, a trip that has opened the door of my soul to sharing personal experiences of loss and growth, to sharing the challenges of the meanings of Jesus, and of my responsibility to be an active listener to what faith means to people in my world and at English Lutheran Church. 

Thank you, Vision Board, for the emphasis our congregation has placed on growing small groups during the past seven years!

Bob B.