For over twenty years I have said, “In the world, the week goes Monday through Saturday and there are two Saturdays…with no Sunday.”

Weekends include soccer and basketball games routinely scheduled on the “second Saturday.”  Friends meet friends for coffee and a bagel.  It is a great time to visit.  Also, it is a great time to read the paper, catch up on work or e-mail or facebook, or to do most anything.  Now Saturdays are so packed and busy with all of the activities, to have another day to catch up or finish up is really important.

Striking, also to me, is the high level of commitment many have to the day after Saturday.  “Our teams depend on every player’s commitment to make the season a success,” I have heard.  And, spending time with one’s family is a priority.  Many take their commitment so seriously that, when they have spent all day Saturday running around doing errands and catching up from their busy weeks, they are determined to have a day to get the whole family together for some “quality time.”  Or, some individuals feel that they have worked so hard all week and there is so much to do to manage the affairs of their lives, they deserve some “me” time at the end of their weekend.

With Lent, we learned that it takes about 40 days to establish a habit.  What we do with our Saturdays and our Sundays becomes a habit.  And, when habits are formed they are hard to break.  It seems that our weekends are designed to draw you in with more and more activity.  Have we fallen into a “weekend trap” filled with habits that prevent us rather than permit us to come together as the Church?

Paul writes in Romans Chapter 12, “Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds…”  (Rom. 12:2, NIV)  Also, John records in his Gospel the words of our Lord Jesus, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.”  (John 17:15-16)  Again, John records, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world…”  (John 15:19)

The world is a different environment from God’s environment.  Taking time out to gather together as the Body of Christ involves intention.  Yes, I know that our lives of faith are lived out in the world 24/7.  Yes, I know that to be “salt” and “light” we must be involved in the world around us.  Yes, I know that there is always a balance to our engagement with the world and our engagement with God’s Word.  It is worth noting, though, in this Easter Season, that the way we worship was turned on its head with the Resurrection.

Sunday – the first day of the week – the day of the Resurrection became the day for Worship.   It was recorded very early on from the Book of Acts (20:7) and I Corinthians (16:2) to Early Christian writings that the first day of the week was the day when the community of believers gathered.  Worship is by derivation a contraction of “worth” “ship” or better defined as “ascribing worth.”

Some people tell me they worship best at home alone or in nature.  This may be true but it is also patently false.  There is no such thing as a “lone ranger” Christian.  The Christian life is meant to be lived out in community.  And we may recognize the Creator in creation; we may even pause and reverentially give God due praise and honor.  However, sitting on the beach or by the lake for re-creation is not a substitute for intentionally putting ourselves under the Holy Scriptures and before God’s table to participate in Holy Communion.

It seems we have come to the place where the unintentional church meets at Starbucks or Panera, at Crockett Park or the YMCA, at the lake or on a hike, at Waffle House or your house.  It is there that “Wormwood” (“Screwtape’s” Junior Devil-in-training) is satisfied by the unintentional drift that squeezes God out of our lives.  People who join in worship once a month on average or less are missing out.  Those who come only on special occasions or “high” Holy days are nominal at best.  Yet, where the family of God, the Church, intends to gather in worship we always find that God is present and waiting.

We are stronger because of each other and weaker without one another.

Come, come to the church and worship.  Intend to gather and to receive.  If you find yourself not sure saying, “I don’t get anything out of church” or “the last time I went to church…” then pray.  Don’t stay away but pray — pray for God to show you what to do and how to be part of the crazy, joyful, powerful, and even sometimes messy experience of God’s family gathered together.

Be part of something intentional — come to Church!

Sincerely in Christ,

Tom Hotchkiss

Hebrews 10:23, 24

In 2012, we begin April with a special week: Holy Week.  What makes this week special?  What makes this week Holy?  Why do we “amp it up” for this week and not for the 51 others?  Does anyone really know what “Maundy” means?  Why do we say Good Friday is “good?”  And, is everyone going to participate fully in the events of the “tridium” (the three days from Maundy Thursday to Easter Moring) this year?  All good questions.

More important, perhaps, than pressing on for one last week of Lenten asceticism; “doing” or participating with mind (thoughts), spirit (desire), and body (physical, active presence) will benefit each of us.  In services of the church, the assembly is afforded the opportunity to hear God’s Word.  Also, the congregation sees the action from the procession to confession to communion to blessing.  Finally, worship is an active expression as together we stand, sit, kneel, sing, say, and pray.

Worship makes an impression on us because we “do it.”

Starting with April 1^st, Palm Sunday, each of us has a new opportunity to “walk” the last days of our Lord’s life.  It is in not only the recounting of the story but also the reliving and participating and experiencing which allows us to consider anew the “sacred head sore wounded.”

I know that everyone will not be present every time we open the church doors; however, I do ask that everyone prayerfully consider how and when to “do Holy Week.” Make a plan (even if it means just five minutes alone each day with God) how to be active and involved in the steps from the triumphal entry to the stone tomb.

Walk the Way of the Cross on Wednesday, witness the Stripping of the Church after the Maundy Thursday Evening Service, set aside at least an hour to hear the Passion on Good Friday.   Most of all, be present with others at the church when possible (Hebrews 10:24, 25).

And, as sure as we do Holy Week 2012, we find ourselves celebrating the Resurrection on Easter.  The words from this Easter hymn say it well:

Easter triumph, Easter joy, these alone can sin destroy.

From sin’s power do thou set free souls newborn, O Lord, in thee.

Hymns of glory, songs of praise, Father unto thee we raise:

Risen Lord, all praise to thee with the Spirit ever be.

A blessed Holy Week and a Joyful Eastertide,

In Christ,

Tom H.

Lent can be seen as a season that encourages habit-building or habit-breaking —- or both. Whether we gave up desserts, smoking, cursing at discourteous drivers, nail biting, liquor, cookies, or calories; or whether we began to exercise daily, read (rather than watch TV), write letters to long lost friends, get up earlier or go to sleep sooner — all of these “habits” are external signs of internal motives and meaning.

The Church — God’s people — set aside the days of Lent to prepare for the yearly celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord. The Church invited you on Ash Wednesday “…to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” (BCP, pg. 265, emphasis mine) The “call” of the church is to our hearts. Whatever we give up or take on is to come from the inside out.

In the classic little booklet My Heart Christ’s Home, Robert Boyd Munger describes the internal “residence” of God’s Son, our Savior. He tells of His presence more than His placement (we do not “put” Jesus in our heart). Munger speaks of the gracious love which God has through His Son — Jesus’ presence and transformative power at the core of our being — in our hearts.

One way I suggest that we build “habits of the heart” is through daily prayer and by “reading and meditation on God’s holy Word.” Last month, I suggested that you add daily prayers to your routine. Often, we are surprised how easily prayer “slides off” the screens of our lives, especially regular, intentional prayer. Our tradition offers a tremendous vehicle for hearing God’s Word and prayer through the Daily Office.

As you embrace and receive this Lenten season as a gift for your Spiritual life and health, consider spiritual habits. Take on a personal Bible study, ten minutes a day, for 40 days, or, as you play your favorite music on your iPod (preferably without words) to exercise, pray while you jog or walk. What if every adult in church on Sunday also prayed for 10 minutes each day of Lent?

Come and join us when you can and be a part of the community of our church praying together. During Lent we will be saying Morning Prayer, Monday through Friday, in the church at 7:15 a.m. Or, if you cannot join us, turn to page 38 or 76 in the Book of Common Prayer and say Morning Prayer “at a distance” with us together.

Ultimately, may we find new ways to outwardly express God’s calling on our whole hearts and lives. Give yourself over as disciples each and every day to spiritual habits — habits of the heart— that ultimately shape us. And, soon we will arrive at the joy of Easter!

Happy Habits and Holy Lent,
Tom H.

We will mark the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday with services of Holy Communion and the Imposition of Ashes at 7 a. m. and 6 p.m.   Always, the challenge for us is to shift from celebration to preparation as we move from Epiphany to Lent.  The task in Lent is one of preparation.

People who know me know that I like to say, “God did not invent Lent…” nor did Jesus institute it along with Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; rather, the church — God’s people — set aside days (at first a week and later a whole season of days) to prepare for the yearly celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord.

Psalm 90, verse 12 says, “So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.”  We are disciples daily…we have from the beginning of February this year to prepare for Lent AND Lent gives us a season to teach us to “number our days” as disciples daily.

I encourage you to prepare for and “welcome Lent” — embrace and receive the new season as a gift for your Spiritual life and health.  Take time to get ready for the Resurrection!  Consider taking on a personal Bible study, ten minutes a day, for 40 days, or, as you put some of your favorite music on your iPod (preferably without words) to exercise, pray while you jog or walk. Think about 200 people praying 10 minutes a day for Lent — that would equate to 55.5 days of prayer!

Or even better, I suggest that you add daily prayers to your routine.  You would be surprised how easily prayer “slides off” the screens of our lives, especially regular, intentional prayer.  Our tradition offers a tremendous vehicle for hearing God’s Word and remembering our daily prayers through the Daily Office.

During the season of Lent, we will be saying Morning Prayer Monday through Friday in the church at 7:15 a.m. Come and join us when you can and be a part of the community of our church praying together.  Or, if you cannot join us, turn to page 38 or 76 in the Book of Common Prayer and say Morning Prayer “at a distance” with us together.

In the midst of Lent may you find new ways to outwardly express God’s calling on your whole hearts and lives. Give yourself over as disciples daily to spiritual habits, daily prayer, that ultimately shapes your hearts.  And finally, arrive at the joy of Easter!

Happy and Holy Lent,

Tom H.

The month of November is a time for “thanksgivings.”  Our national holiday remembers the thanks of pilgrims for God’s provision through a difficult first winter in a new land.  Over the next month, together at the Church of the Advent we will consider the opportunities in each of our lives for giving thanks.

There are various ways for each of us to give thanks to God…for the blessings, the benefits, even the difficulties and the struggles, our personal moments, for us, our own families, and our family gathered.  How we have seen God at work in the events of our lives turns us and our hearts toward God.  This mental inventory helps us remember to give thanks to God the giver of all.  Truthfully, “giving thanks,” remembering to say “thank you,” and hearing someone else return “thanks” — all of these are important.  In giving thanks, we acknowledge the giver.

In all, God is the giver and we are the recipients.  Further, and more difficult to grasp, is that what we have is not earned, it is given by God (Eph. 2:8.9).  From the cradle to the cross, from the cross to the crown, God’s love extends out to us (John 3:16).  In giving thanks, we acknowledge God as the creator and provider of all that we possess.  As the scripture says, “We love because He first loved us…” (I John 1:9).  And, as a logical extension of our faith and the words of St. John, we give thanks to God for all that we have and all that we are because the Lord provides for us.

In November, as we focus on our stewardship of all that God’s provides, we anticipate bringing our commitments — “bringing back” to God a portion of all that God provides — and joining those commitments with everyone on “Consecration Sunday.”   Stewardship is the term used to define the fulfillment of our relationship with God in Jesus Christ (not simply some code-word or some sort of “spin” to make us respond…).  Theologically, stewardship is this idea that all that I have and possess — everything — is a gift from God.  St. Paul asks the church in Corinth (and us): “What have you that you did not receive?  If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?”

When I think of Advent, I am caught up in “thanks” and “giving” because Advent means so much to me.  For me, giving is not an option nor is ministry.  We are all ministers and all have ministries according to our gifts.  I am personally convinced that 100% is the standard for giving with the tithe being a portion returned for God’s work.  Either we are all God’s or not at all God’s persons.  Giving is a spiritual matter.  For me, giving is not an option.  And, we are not giving to the budget of the church; rather, our gifts allow us to allocate gifts to needs.

It is through being generous that one learns generosity.  Giving begets giving.  Giving is a gift.  What portion will you return?  4%, 5%, 8%, 10%, 15%?  Let faith guide your decision.  On “Consecration Sunday,” we will gather and present of our pledges of time, talent, and treasure and dedicate them to the Glory of God with thanksgiving. Most of all, always live and give with thanks.

Sincerely in Christ,

Tom H.

Philippians 1:3-5

Recently, I was preaching on the theme of “Homecoming.”  I was preaching on the “high priestly prayer” of Jesus from John 17 where he tells the disciples that he is going home.  What sounds like a farewell is also the reminder that the disciples are members of a new family and they, too, have a new home.

What does the word homecoming bring to your mind?  Do you think of an old-fashioned reunion of sorts with a picnic supper on the ground?  Do you think of a family reunion?  Or, do you think of the return home of someone after a time away or a special achievement?

In the midst of the homecomings of our lives, both literal and figurative, where do we call home?  When you think of a homecoming that you have made, who was there and why?  And, in our homecomings do we picture God there; is God present?  Michael W. Smith’s contemporary Christian classic sings, “And friends are friends forever, if the Lord’s the Lord of them…”

Certainly, we think of family and friends when we think of a homecoming — families where we are loved first and friends where we learn to love and to be loved.  “Friends” is still one of the most popular television series, even in reruns.  Nashville’s own Michael W. Smith wrote “A Friend is a Friend Forever.”  Carole King told us in her song “You’ve Got a Friend.”

In the Gospels, we encounter our Lord as one who relates to people as friends.  God-in-the-flesh incarnates concern respect, care, knowledge, esteem, and love for all to whom he ministers.  In short, Jesus’ ministry is unified by the friendship he both “brought and wrought.”  The depth and completion of friendship is exemplified in the institution of the Lord’s Supper where (BCP, pg.371) “on the night he was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends…”

Our ministry together at the Church of the Advent is one of friendship in the deepest sense and that is the reason why every Sunday feels like a homecoming of sorts.  We do not gather together (Heb. 10:24, 25) seeking sweet, sugary, superficial, and ultimately unsatisfying friendships.  Rather, in the reality and difficulties of our everyday lives, first we seek to be fueled in our friendship with God and its impact on our friendships with one another.

Final thought:  If you saw the scene (captured in pictures) of the arrival home of the Vanderbilt Baseball team from the College World Series, you caught a glimpse of the gathering of God’s family — one built not simply on familiarity but as family, not just from repetition but rather from the growth that comes from addition and accumulation of experiences, not only from singular victories but also in the eternal qualities that result only from belief and faith.

Remember, “If God had a homepage, you would be on it…”

Your friend in Christ,

Tom H.

On Easer Sunday, at the beginning of my sermon I told the story of the second or third grade Sunday School teacher who had just finished telling her class about how Jesus was crucified and place in a tomb with a large stone sealing the opening.  And, in wanting to share in the excitement of the Easter story, she asked, “What do you think were Jesus’ first words when he came bursting out of that tomb alive?”  A hand shot up from a student in the back of the classroom.  The student was almost jumping out of their chair and shouted with excitement, “Ta-dah!”

Maybe the student wasn’t far from the truth.  I received a thoughtful e-mail from a parishioner reflecting on this story and the word “Ta-dah!”  Our fellow parishioner wrote:

Throughout the sermon yesterday I kept thinking about your account of what Jesus said after the tomb was rolled away, and for the first time I began to connect that interjection with the Hebrew word for “Thank You.”  I never studied Hebrew, but I learned that expression from a tour guide in Israel.  The small group I was with heard it again and again during a long night of waiting in the airport in Tel Aviv, where many announcements were made on the sound system – each one ending with “To-dah.”  … It may not be Aramaic, but perhaps Jesus really could have said that – in thanksgiving!

From the Holy Language Institute: the Hebrew word for ‘thanks’ is ‘תּוֹדָה todah’. ‘Todah’ is one of the first words you learn when going to Israel, and is very useful. You may also hear the expression ‘תודה רבה todah rabbah’, which means ‘thank you very much’, or literally ‘big thanks!’

Tim Gray writing for the Catholic Education Resource Center writes: What does the word “todah” mean? It is Hebrew for “thanksgiving,” although it also connotes a confession of praise in addition to gratitude. For example, Leah gave thanks to God when she bore her fourth son, and so she named him yehudah — or Judah — which is the verbal form of todah — to give thanks.”

Gray continues: “A todah sacrifice would be offered by someone whose life had been delivered from great peril, such as disease or the sword. The redeemed person would show his gratitude to God by gathering his closest friends and family for a todah sacrificial meal. The lamb would be sacrificed in the Temple and the bread for the meal would be consecrated the moment the lamb was sacrificed. The bread and meat, along with wine, would constitute the elements of the sacred todah meal, which would be accompanied by prayers and songs of thanksgiving, such as Psalm 116.”

Words are funny and powerful.  The childlike expression “Ta-dah” is the “sound of the musical flourish or fanfare which often accompanies an entrance, trick, etc.”   Word Origins says, for example, “It marks the finish of the riding act in the circus, when the [rider] leaps.. from the.. steed… Ta-dah!  [It is] used to accompany or draw attention to a dramatic entrance, announcement, etc.: ‘Here I am!’ ‘Here it is!’”

Clearly, Jesus was making an entrance (and an exit) from the tomb on the Day of the Resurrection — “Ta-dah!”  And, clearly Jesus had made the greatest thank offering of indeed, himself, the Lamb that was slain.  He had foreshadowed the thanksgiving, sacrifice and praise not only in the Passover meal but also in the same symbols of bread and wine in the meal of great thanksgiving – “To-dah!”

Out of the mouths of babes…etymology and Easter.  Who would think that a simple expression and the derivation of simple words could lead us to the Cross and then the empty Tomb.  May your Easter Season be filled with the entrance of the risen Lord in power among us.  “Ta-dah!”  And, may your Eastertide be marked by thanksgiving for the sacrificial love shown to us in God’s Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. “To-dah!”

With prayers of joy and thanksgiving this Easter,

Sincerely in Christ,

Tom H.

When I was young, the New Year’s Carol we always sang emphasized “in” with the “new” and “out” with the “old.” Tradition had some open the front and back doors of their homes to let the “old” out the back door as you let the “new” in the front. As we arrive at another New Year, we have a chance to ponder what activities crowd our lives too much, which friendships miss our attention too often, where all our time and effort goes. We evaluate the seeming “hustle and bustle” — the “coming” and “going” hectic paces of our lives.

As I wrote in last year’s Announcer regarding the “Physics of Ministry,” our Christian community is predicated on two forces — centrifugal and centripetal — those which draw us in and those which send us out. As I said at our Annual Parish Meeting, Sunday worship is an important opportunity for everyone to come together and offer our praises to God. Many are drawn together to hear the scriptures and preaching and to be nourished by the holy sacraments. And, just as we are brought together, also, we are sent out to “love and serve the Lord…” both on Sunday and everyday.

This year, there will be new opportunities for worship beginning with a midday, mid-week service of Holy Communion at 12:15 p.m. on Wednesdays starting January 6th. This service will offer a time and place for people in the surrounding work environments as well as people whose schedules are flexible to enjoy a brief midweek service following the Lesser Feasts of the Church Year. Additionally, there will be new opportunities not only for gathering in smaller groups for fellowship and discipleship but also to serve members of the church and to serve others in need in Nashville and beyond.

Almost everything we do in the life of the church carries some of the two forces — the ones that pull us in and the ones that send us back out. Yet, at the center of it all is one whose “force” who calls us in and sends us. From what I understand of physics, without one object in the center in motion there would not be the two forces both at work. Thanks be to God for Jesus at the center beckoning first with, “Come unto me all you who are burdened and I will give you rest…” and then sending forth with “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations…”

As we welcome in another New Year, I pray that we experience the constant movement of God’s love and work in and through us.

Sincerely in Christ,
Tom H. Mt. 9:38

Mark Greene, Executive Director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, says that the Christian life is “…a peach and not an orange.”   He goes on to explain that most people see their lives as segmented, like an orange, divided into various often unrelated and disconnected sections.  However, the life of a Christian — a disciple, one who follows Jesus — is intended, he asserts, to be like a peach (a whole fruit with a solid core).

The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity was founded in 1982 by John Stott to equip Christians to make a radical difference for Christ in the contemporary world – in their workplaces, neighborhoods, schools and colleges. John Stott, retired Anglican priest and world-renowned author, teacher, and speaker is the author of books such as Basic Christianity and The Cross of Christ.

LICC today acts, nationally and internationally, as a champion for whole-life discipleship and for mission ‘wherever you are’. The multi-disciplinary team provides a wide range of resources for Christians, leaders, theological colleges and Christian agencies through courses, conferences, publications, videos, email and the web.

Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day, right up to the end of the age.’ Matt 28:19-20 (The Message)

“Make disciples, not converts. Initiate them into a community that’s learning to live out the life of God in the world. Help these learners to embody Christ wherever they go – in motivation, in wisdom, in relationships, in character. Enable the presence of Christ to release and empower them for this mission.

‘If we don’t disciple people the culture surely will.’ – Alan Hirsch

Whole-life discipleship is not ‘A’ level Christianity. It’s the vocation of every believer. A joy and delight. And also a very tough calling…yet it’s absolutely vital that we embrace this challenge if we are to be fruit-bearing, life-affirming followers of Jesus – together and apart.

Churches may well need a whole variety of resources, training and support. But at heart the invitation to any church is to restore whole-life disciplemaking to the central role Jesus assigned it in his own ministry and in his commission to the disciples. By embracing this vocation we might grow healthy individuals, connected to one another in healthy communities, able to be ‘living testimonies’, demonstrating to the rest of society a viable alternative way of life – however imperfectly!”  – Imagine Project, Diciplemaking Churches

As we think and pray about our own discipleship, what kind of fruit are we?  Do we desire our lives as disciples to be?

Seeking to follow,

Tom H. (Mt. 6:33)

“One of the major reasons why people reject the Gospel today is not because they perceive it to be false but because they perceive it to be trivial.”  John Stott

‘The gospel is good news concerning the Kingdom, and the Kingdom is God’s rule over the totality of life. Every human need, therefore, can be used by the Spirit of God as a beachhead for the manifestation of his kingly power.’ – René Padilla

Lent can be seen as a season that encourages habit-building or habit-breaking —- or both.  Whether we gave up desserts, smoking, cursing at discourteous drivers, nail biting, liquor, or girl scout cookies, or whether we began to exercise daily, read (rather than watch TV), write letters to long lost friends, get up earlier or go to sleep sooner;  all of these “habits” are external signs of internal motives and meaning.

The Church — God’s people — set aside the days of Lent to prepare for the yearly celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord.  The Church invited you on Ash Wednesday “…to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” (BCP, pg. 265)  The “call” of the church is to our hearts.  Whatever we give up or take on is to come from the inside out.

In the classic little booklet My Heart Christ’s Home, Robert Boyd Munger describes the internal “residence” of God’s Son, our Savior.  He tells of His presence more than His placement (we do not “put” Jesus in our heart).  Munger speaks of the gracious love which God has through His Son — Jesus’ presence and transformative power at the core of our being — in our hearts.

Lent represents an inward turn of the light of God’s love to the depths of each soul.  The question for us is as we give up or take on new habits as external signs of our internal motives and meaning, as we seek to answer the call to new levels of spiritual discipline, as we seek to pray or fast or study the Scriptures will we turn inward in a way that engages and encounters God present in our hearts — that allows “growth in grace.”

“…But grow in the grace and knowledge of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.”  (2 Peter 3:18)

Q. What is grace?

A. Grace is God’s favor towards us, unearned and undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills. (Catechism, BCP, pg. 858)

As Lent turns into Holy Week and Holy Week turns into Easter over the next month, I pray that God will use our exercises of discipline and habits.  I pray that God will use our habits to shape our hearts.  Moreover, I pray that this Easter will find for us a new depth and understanding of our shared life with Jesus in the Resurrection — through grace —- to eternal life!

In Christ, Tom H.