Devotional 4-17-14

April 17, 2014

 “. . .let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely. . .looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who . . .endured the cross, disregarding its shame. . .Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.”    (Hebrews 12:1-3)

A long hard winter!  A season of discipline we call Lent!  World events, city and state issues, lives impacted by suffering and death all around us!    And now in the middle of Holy Week – we remember that God through Jesus Christ gives purpose and meaning to all of this we call life.

One of my favorite writers, Sr. Joan Chittister OSB, giving commentary to the Rule of Benedict says, “Holiness is not an excuse to avoid responsibility.  Spirituality is not an escape from life.  Spirituality leavens life.  Spirituality is what stabilizes us in the middle of confusion and gives us energy to go on doing what must be done even when the rest of life taxes and fatigues and separates us from our own resources.”  (Insight for the Ages)

As we observe again the story of Jesus’ last earthly week – the gathering with his disciples in the Upper Room, his arrest, suffering, death, and his resurrection – we are reminded that we experience life and knowing his presence do not grow weary or lose heart.

A friend and colleague of mine reminded me earlier in Lent of a prayer by Thomas Merton, the 20^th century Trappist monk and writer:

 “My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
 I do not see the road ahead of me.  I cannot know for certain
 where it will end.  Nor do I really know myself, and the fact
 that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I

 am actually doing so.
 But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
 And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
 I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
 And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though
 I may know nothing about it.  Therefore I will trust you always though
 I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.  I will not fear,
 for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my
 perils alone.”   (Thoughts in Solitude)

In the middle of this Holy Week, may the writer of Hebrews speak to our souls –
“Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.”  (12:3)

Dr. William H. Wilson (Bill)

Devotional 4-7-12

Matthew 27:57-66

“So Joseph (from Arimathea) took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb

I remember several years ago, when I was a local church pastor - the day before Easter Sunday was a busy day of Easter parties and children’s egg hunts. The activity level at the church was hectic with all the preparations for Easter Sunday morning – decorating the sanctuary and the bustle of the children’s party. Our parsonage household was hustling with the last minute cooking and readiness for a traditional Easter dinner. The evening would bring a quiet hush around the church as members would quietly come up the side walk between the church and parsonage entering the church for a night of prayer vigil. Individuals and families would take blocks of time -- keeping vigil through the night awaiting the glorious morning sunrise of Easter.

In the past few years I have grown in a deeper appreciation for this day before Easter – Holy Saturday. Throughout the history of our Christian faith the ancient description of this day has been known as “The Great Silence”. Lost in our busy culture has been the stark reminder of Jesus’ death, his “sleep” in the tomb, a day of quiet and somber stillness.

After I became a Benedictine Oblate of St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana, my wife and I had the opportunity to spend an Easter weekend at the monastery guesthouse. The usual quiet atmosphere of being at St. Meinrad Archabbey, participating in the prayers with the monks, was enhanced by a powerful personal experience. In the Abbey Church there is a section where the simple oak coffin of a deceased monk is placed between two tall candlesticks. Vigil is kept by the other monks as they sit in prayer with the body of the deceased monk.

I walked into the Abbey Church on that Holy Saturday and there in that same spot was a life sized long painting of the Crucified Christ in the wrapped linen cloth. Two tall candlesticks were placed at the head and feet. The painting, by one of the monks -Fr. Donald Walpole, O.S.B., was painted in 1954 as part of an entire series of paintings of “The Stations of the Cross”. Sketched in calligraphy on the life sized painting are the Latin words, “In pace in idipsum”, which is the reminder of Psalm 4:8 - “I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.” Sitting beside the painting, just like at the death of a monk, was one of the monks of St. Meinrad keeping vigil and saying prayers.

As we observe another Easter, may this day of Great Silence remind us all of the death of our Savior. In the hustle and bustle of living we all experience, may we briefly pause in vigil remembering the stillness of this holy day. We are reminded of our own death that one day leads into life eternal. Before we experience the glory of Resurrection we all will pass through death and silence. As we quietly keep vigil, we remember our sins that were carried to the cross and buried with the Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Dr. William H. Wilson (Bill)

Devotional 4-21-11

Scripture: “And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him”.   Luke 22:14

“When he was at the table with them, he took bread and blessed, and broke it , and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him. . .” Luke 24:30-31

When I was about four years old growing up in Parkersburg, West Virginia my family moved from our house on Lynn Street to what I have affectionately called my home-place on 19^th Street and Oak. One of the stories told in our family is how my mother wanted the kitchen remodeled before we moved in. She wanted cabinets all around and lots of counter space. Mom wanted a large oversized kitchen bar. The builder/contractor argued she didn’t want it large. But, our mother insisted she wanted it oversized with room to sit all around it on three sides. Needless to say, she won! That kitchen had a large kitchen bar with bar stools all around it. It was the center of the kitchen and even the house!

I have special memories of that kitchen bar because so much of life in the F. Kase Wilson family centered around it. We ate our evening meal there promptly at 5:15pm every weekday evening when Dad would come home from Parkersburg Steel Company. We laughed and talked and yes, even argued many times around that table. Sometimes I would spread my homework out on the kitchen bar. Sometimes my parents would do their paperwork there. My father would spread out the newspaper all over it. I sat across from my mother at the kitchen bar many times late in the evening to share my struggles and life decisions. It was there I discussed with my family that I was going to be a Methodist preacher.

Every Sunday when we gather as the Church to worship we gather around a table. We call it the altar or the communion table. How special for those who gather at United Methodist churches each Sunday to sit around the table (some literally, others symbolically by what we call the “altar” or “worship center”). Like my memories of that kitchen bar in my home-place in Parkersburg, we who are in the Church gather to share life together around the table. We laugh, we cry, we make decisions and yes, we even argue and have our differences around the “table”. A powerful image of Jesus is that of being at the table with his disciples. On this day (Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday) we remember the special meal Jesus had at table. He shared his life with and for each of us as he gave his body and blood. He gave us that memory as sacrament – “a visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace”. Like growing up and having a wonderful family in Parkersburg, the Church gathered around the “table” is where we are nurtured, fed, and nourished in order for us to go out and share his love with others. What a special place to be fed as we gather time after time as the Church.

Dr. William H. Wilson (Bill)

Director of Connectional Ministries-Assistant to the Bishop
West Virginia Annual Conference – The United Methodist Church