CCC Blog

Something to Think About – “Down to My Feet”

“Holy Spirit come down, I need you now in everything.  I need your anointing.  

Fill me, move in your power, like oil poured down to my feet.  I need your anointing.”

These are words from the chorus to a song the praise band sang during communion this past Sunday.  As I listened to it, I was drawn to the phrase, “like oil poured down to my feet.”  It immediately reminded me of Psalm 133, which speaks of precious oil running down from the head of Aaron, all the way down over his beard on the the collar of his robes.  Oil was used as a ritual of consecration and anointing.  It was a sign of commitment to God and a blessing from God.  Of course, only a little would be used.  It was a token, a gesture.  The amount used wasn’t as important as the intentions and motivations that stood behind it.  So when Psalm 133 speaks of oil running all the way down to the collar of the robes well… that certainly represented extravagance.  

Even more extravagant was the way Jesus was anointed by the unnamed woman in Mark 14.  Just days before his death, she “wasted” a whole jar of expensive ointment on Jesus.  That’s what his disciples said… “wasted.”  As though the woman needed only a little bit of the ointment for Jesus’ head, but in pouring the whole jar on Jesus’ head, some of it clearly would have run down his own face, over the collar of his robes, even all the way down to his feet, before running off his feet and onto the ground.  The feet are the farthest they can possibly be from the head and still be a member of the same body.  But that fact that anointing oil would run all the way down to the feet says something about the nature and character of God.

Abundance.  That’s the best way to describe God.  Abundant love.  The abundant love of God is so great, we will always receive more of it than we would think necessary.  And it can never be “wasted,” because there is a limitless supply of it.  

Julian of Norwich was a saint of the church who was born in 1342.  She is most well-known for the quote attributed to her, “All will be well.”  She lived during a difficult time in European history.  The Black Death was ravaging the population, with people dying so fast many weren’t able to be buried.  The church was plagued by its own in-fighting and people’s hope and confidence was wavering.  Into this world, Julian wrote of God’s great love.  The reason why she said, “All will be well,” is because humanity and God are inextricably linked and there is nothing we could ever do to break that unity with God.  The prevailing teaching of the church at the time was that God was angry with human sin and nothing humans could do could ever appease the anger God felt at the thought of our sin.  But Julian said “no.”  Not even the worst of our sin can separate us from divine love.  And even though our pain and suffering my distract us so that we no longer recognize God’s love, doesn’t mean God has stopped loving us.  Julian helps us see the nature of God’s abundance and the desire of a loving God to share that abundance with us.  

So may we go into this week with the knowledge and confidence that we are clothed in the abundant love of God – all the way down to our feet.  And that there is nothing we could ever do that would cause God stop wanting to share that abundance with us and clothe us in it.

Something to Think About – Prayers from the Desert Mothers

For the first 300 years after the time of Jesus, Christianity was not an accepted religion in the Roman empire.  If we ever think – or read – about Christians being persecuted for their faith, it would have been during this time.  By the mid 4th century, however, Christianity was fully embraced by the Romans and men and women began leaving their cities and towns to experience solitude in desert and wilderness areas.  It was thought that by detaching oneself from earthly things – home, family, possessions etc.… - one could achieve oneness with Christ himself.  After all, Jesus said “Sell what you have, give the money away and follow me.”  

Though these Desert Mothers and Desert Fathers appeared in different places around the Mediterranean Sea, those from Egypt are the most well-known.  In the wilderness, some lived alone, in caves or other simple dwellings they could find.  Others lived in small communities with others who had also left the populated areas for the quiet of the desert.  In fact, what we know as monasteries today had their origins in these communities from the desert.  From these Desert Mothers and Desert Fathers, sayings have been handed down, espousing wisdom learned from the desert as well as prayers inspired lessons learned from the solitude.

Since our focus this month in worship is prayer, I wanted to share a few special prayers here.  These are three, inspired by the Desert Mothers from Mary Earle’s book, “The Desert Mothers: Spiritual Practices from the Women of the Wilderness.”  Feel free to use them (and/or adapt them) in your own prayer life as you might be moved to do.  

(A prayer to refrain from judgment)

God of all mercies, draw me ever deeper into the mercy in which I live and move and have my being.  Grant me the courage to have mercy on myself and on my neighbor.  Deliver me from judging harshly. Gentle my heart, for your love’s sake.  Amen.

(A prayer to accept God’s love)

Gracious God, you have created me in your image and likeness, and I will thank you because “I am marvelously made.”  Grant me a deepening desire to sit still with you, and to begin to know your love for me.  Amen.  

(A prayer to be still and trust God)

Gentle and loving God, I desire to be still and know that you are with me and within me.  Grant me the wisdom to allow my soul to be quiet and confident, trusting that you are doing better things in me than I can ask or imagine.  Amen.  

                                  Blessings – Michael

Psalm 42

When Jonah prayed to God from inside the belly of the fish, our scriptural focus this past Sunday, he quoted a line from Psalm 42:7 – “… all your waves and  billows have passed over me.”  Here, then, is a reflection on Psalm 42, which echoes some of the same themes articulated this last Sunday as we sought to answer the question, “Why is it, exactly, that we pray to the Lord?” 

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St. Augustine famously said, “My soul is restless, O God, until it finds its rest in you.”  He said this after trying to find meaning and happiness in a variety of different ways himself.  First, he followed his own interests and passions.  Next, he studied different philosophies.  Along the way, his mother – whom he loved dearly – passed away.  Eventually, through all these twists and turns his life had taken, he found solace in Christ; in the Gospel; in the promises given in the Holy Word.  Like Augustine, we may take a while to get there, but there is only one thing that truly affords us peace, hope, certainty, and true rest - faith in God through Jesus the Christ. 

This is the focus of the first two verses of Psalm 42. It is as natural for our souls to want closeness with God as it is for a thirsty deer to pant for a drink of water from a cool stream.  This is not up for debate.  It is not a hypothesis or theory.  It is a fact.  Yet, as was the case for Augustine, we too often take the long way – the hard way – to realize this.  We seek our happiness and fulfillment in our work, our savings accounts, our service to others, and even in our love for those closest to us.  As noble as these things may be, they cannot provide us true happiness and fulfillment.  They were never meant to.  Only God can do that.

In our lives, there will be moments – perhaps even many moments – when it feels that God is far away; times when we feel like speaking the words of v. 9 – “…my (God), why have you forgotten me?”  In such times, our hope comes in the message of v. 6 and v. 11,  “Hope in God, because we will see God again… our hope and our God.”  This truth is so important to the psalmist it is given twice!  When we turn to God and seek a greater closeness with God, that kind of connection doesn’t happen overnight.  No relationship ever does.  But God is always there, ready for it to grow.  The more we intentionally seek that God and commit to that God, the greater we will see our relationship with God grow.  And over time, we will not only understand – but truly experience – the true rest that our souls have always desired. 

God of true rest, thank you for always being there for me.  Thank you for taking me back every time my earthly decisions lead me away from you. And thank you for being the one constant and certainty on which I can rely, through all life’s ups, downs and changes.  Amen.  

Blessings – Michael

Something to Think About – What is Prayer?

Having completed our August worship focus on Red-Letter words of Jesus in the Gospel of John, we now turn our attention to Prayer during the month of September.  In late Spring, we shared with you five (5) faith practices during one of our services.  They were: attending Sunday worship, reading/studying the bible, praying, giving (material generosity), and fellowship (developing Christian friendships). You were asked to choose the two (2) you believed you needed to emphasize more in your day-to-day living. The two that were highlighted most – and by a wide margin – were prayer and reading/studying the Word.  Thus, our focus this month of prayer.

Each Sunday, the sermons will be on some aspect of prayer.  Each will center on a particular question and a biblical figure (story) that helps us answer it.  Additionally, there are two (2) more ways you can take part in things which can help strengthen your prayer life:

-      You can attend Pastor Melinda’s 3-week small group on prayer practices

Tuesday 9/3             5:30 – 6:30                  Breath prayer

Monday 9/9              5:30 – 6:30                  Prayer walking

Monday 9/16            5:30 – 6:30                  Letter-writing prayers

-       You can follow the 30 Days of Prayer pamphlet Pastor Vicky made available this past Sunday.  If you need a copy, contact and we will send you one. 

I also wish to thank you for filling out the Survey on Prayer made available over the past two weeks.  We’ve received nearly 50 responses, with an even number of you filling it out online as opposed to a paper copy.  I will be sharing your answers to the survey questions (without mentioning specific names) throughout the month.  But I wish to thank you here, in advance, for what you shared.  In that survey, you were honest and vulnerable, and I believe that by sharing your responses, you will be able to help one another – albeit indirectly – in ways that could not otherwise be experienced.  Here is what you can expect week to week:

Week 1 (9/1)

Question                                What is prayer?

Scripture                                Luke 1:46-55                        Mary Magnificat

Week 2 (9/8)

Question                                To whom do I pray?               

Scripture                                Jonah 2:1-9                           John in the belly of the fish

Week 3 (9/15)

Question                                When do I pray / What do I pray for?

Scripture                                Exodus 14:10-14                 Israelites escaping Egyptians

Week 4 (9/22)                       

Question                                What does it look like when I’m praying?

Scripture                                Psalm 51                              Prayer of Confession

Week 5 (9/29)

Question                                What if I pray and nothing happens?

                                               What if I don’t get what I pray for?

Scripture                                Job 1:20-22                           Job’s explanation

                                                                        Blessings– Michael