Buena Vista Ministerial Alliance

02/14/2023

Please join your neighbors for worship and fellowship, starting Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 12 noon.

11/25/2021

03/24/2021

BVMA Lenten Devotional Reflection for March 24, 2021
by Pastor Galen Combs, Stone Church of the Brethren


Scripture Reading Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another —and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Creative Encouragement

For the past year, our world has been dealing with the effects of Covid-19. Some people have lost their jobs, their loved ones, and some have even lost their lives because of this terrible virus. In the midst of this challenging time, I have seen some powerful examples of people caring for each other. I read an article about a community in the United Kingdom that was on lock-down because of the virus. Some children in that community offered encouragement to their neighbors by placing pictures of rainbows in their windows. I heard about some other communities that had parades so that their local school children who couldn’t go to school in person could wave to their teachers from their cars. In Buena Vista this past year, there have been drive-by Christmas parades and drive-through Easter egg hunts. These are all very creative ways to provide encouragement in a time when we sometimes haven’t been able to encourage each other face to face.

Right here in Buena Vista, many church leaders have found creative ways to encourage people in their congregations. Many pastors have made phone calls, sent emails, or snail mail, and posted sermons and Bible studies on Facebook and YouTube. This year, due to Covid-19, the members of the Buena Vista Ministerial Alliance decided that it wasn’t safe to do our usual in-person Lenten lunch services. Instead, we decided to submit weekly Lenten devotionals which people could receive online or by paper copy. Even though we have sometimes not been able to do church like we used to, we have developed creative ways to stay connected and encourage each other.

In the midst of this worldwide pandemic, I have seen the people of God taking seriously God’s call in Hebrews 10:24-25 to find ways to give encouragement to each other. Giving encouragement during this time has meant that as the Body of Christ, we have had to think outside of the box in order to answer God’s call on our lives. Even though we have had to do things differently, we have still been able to encourage each other and be the church that God has called us to be.


As we let our creative juices flow and find creative ways to care for each other, we are showing the world that no virus can stop the church from being the church. Since we’re probably going to be dealing with this virus for at least a little while longer, let’s continue to make phone calls, send an email, or maybe even put a colorful picture in a window to show that we care.

As we assess the damages left behind from this virus, we are going to find many hurting people in our world and in our local community. These people will need us to come alongside them and be the encouraging presence of Jesus in their lives. Let’s answer God’s call, and let’s be the hands and feet of Jesus in this hurting world. Let’s never allow anything to stop us from finding creative ways to encourage each other.

Let us pray:
Dear Lord, we thank you for being with us during this past year. During this Lenten season, as we focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus, help us rise up and show your love and compassion to people in the world around us. During this time, when we still might not be able to do church in the same way we have done it before, we ask that you would continue to give us creative ideas about how we can do your work in the world. Give us the courage to be willing to do something new and creative in order to bring encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Christ and to the people in the world around us.

It is in the name of Jesus Christ that we pray, AMEN.

Due to the ongoing need for food assistance in BV during COVID-19, the BVMA community Lenten offering this year will be split between Community Share Food Bank, Stone Church of the Brethren Food Bank, and Bridge to Hope Food Bank. You may give to the BVMA community Lenten offering by making a check out to Buena Vista Ministerial Alliance and mailing your check to Stone Church of the Brethren at 2162 Forest Avenue Buena Vista, VA 24416 or dropping off your donation at the Stone Church of the Brethren office.

03/18/2021

BVMA Lenten Devotional Reflection for March 17th, 2021
Submitted by Pastor Mike Hamilton

The Bible says in John 18:33-38(a) Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about Me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed You over to me. What have You done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If My kingdom were from this world, My followers would be fighting to keep Me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, My kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice." Pilate asked him, "What is truth?"

The theme of Lent this year, adopted by Members of the Buena Vista Ministerial Alliance was what kind of community does Christ call us as Christians to be, in contrast to the kingdom of this world.

I read the above verses of Scripture, and one word jumped out at me, King or kingdom. Pilate asked Jesus if He was King of the Jews, to which, Jesus asked Pilate a question, “Did you come up with this on your own, or did someone else tell you about Me?”

I thought about how just days before the crowds saw Christ enter Jerusalem, and how they shouted, “Hosanna, Hosanna” but then, as Pilate questioned Jesus their cries had changed to “Crucify, Crucify!”

I thought about the world we live today. And how we MUST be different. We must be the ones that cry out, “Hosanna” and not “Crucify!” As I sat and I thought about what to share with you. I thought about a young girl that attends our Church, Emma Mazingo.

Every year Emma has a project that we promote and share in our Church. Why? Because Emma was born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. Basically here lungs are not like ours, and the day she was born doctors only gave Ms. Emma a 50% chance of survival. They told her parents she wouldn’t survive the ambulance ride from Augusta to UVA, but she did.

This year her “Pay It Forward 2021Project” is Bee Kind.

Her Mother, Kristen Mazingo shared this on her page, its a quote taken from the animated movie, The Bee Movie. It said this - “According to all known laws of aviation. There is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course. Flies anyway. Because bees don't care what humans think is impossible.”

Kristen went on to explain about the link between bees, CDH, and Ms. Emma. She told how Emma shouldn’t be alive, due to CDH and how bees shouldn’t fly. In other words as Kristen wrote. She shouldn’t have been able to survive with her lungs. But just like the bee, she likes to prove people wrong.

So what was Emma’s challenge to us? Kindness! She simply wants us to show more kindness.

According to Webster’s Online Dictionary, that word is defined this way - “the quality of being friendly. Generous. Considerate.”

I spoke that Sunday morning about the Good Samaritan, because to me, its a great story of what it truly means to be kind. In the story, you have a man that was left for dead on the side of the road. Battered. Bruised. Bleeding. The Bible tells us that three men approach the injured man, one was a Priest, one was a Levite, the other was a man from Samaria.

Two of those men represent Christians of the world. What did they do? They passed by on the other side of the road. They didn’t stop to help the man that was injured, they simply passed by. I considered that, and then I asked the question, the theme of Lent 2021, “What kind of community does Christ call us as Christians to be, in contrast to the kingdom of this world?”

You see, kindness doesn’t come natural to us as humans, it’s something we have to strive for. Those two men, the priest and the Levite, they SHOULD have helped the injured man, he was one of their own, but they didn’t. They passed by on the other side of the road. And along came a stranger, a Samaritan. The Jewish people and the Samaritan people of that day and time hated one another. They didn’t get along. They were enemies. But the Samaritan put all of that aside and he helped a total stranger.

He was KIND!

We must be as well!

I thought about what verse of Scripture I could use to help us fulfill this “project” from a young lady that lives in this community. I chose Luke 6:27-36, which says - But to you who are listening - I say - Love your enemies - do good to those who hate you - bless those who curse you - pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek - turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat - do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you - and if anyone takes what belongs to you - do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you - what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you - what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment - what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners - expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies - do good to them - and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then - your reward will be great - and you will be children of the Most High - because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful - just as your Father is merciful.

In the middle of those verses (Bold lettering) we find the Golden Rule. Do to others as you would have them do to you. What’s important to remember about the Golden Rule is this, that day that Jesus spoke those words to His Disciples and His followers, Jesus wasn’t telling them how to treat other people, instead, He was telling them how to treat their enemies.

Its so easy to be nice to those we like, our friends, our family, our neighbors, BUT NOT SO MUCH when it comes to our enemies. But we must. Here in this season leading up to Easter, I challenge you, as Ms. Emma Mazingo challenged our congregation.

BEE Kind!

Father, as we walk the roads of life, help us to see others as You see them, and not as we see them. Give us eyes to see as You see, ears to hear as You hear, and hearts to LOVE as You LOVE. Its in Your PRECIOUS Name that we pray.

Amen

Due to the ongoing need for food assistance in BV during COVID-19, the BVMA community Lenten offering this year will be split between Community Share Food Bank, Stone Church of the Brethren Food Bank, and Bridge to Hope Food Bank. You may give to the BVMA community Lenten offering by making a check out to Buena Vista Ministerial Alliance and mailing your check to Stone Church of the Brethren at 2162 Forest Avenue Buena Vista, VA 24416 or dropping off your donation at the Stone Church of the Brethren office.

03/10/2021

BVMA Lenten Devotional Reflection for March 10th, 2021
by Pastor Adam Williams,
Pentecostal Holiness Church

Scripture reading is from John 4:3-26, 39-42 (NIV)
So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Savior of the World
Have you ever been in the presence of a celebrity only to find out later that this person was famous? I remember a few years ago being at a Chick-Fil-A in Richmond, VA and noticing a really tall, older gentleman standing in line. I spoke to the gentlemen, asked him how he was doing, to which he replied, “good, and you?” I told him that I was doing good, ready to eat and then I paid for my food and walked out the door. As I went out the double doors two other people were behind me. I held the door for them. As they walked by I overheard one of them say, “Dude, that was Ralph Sampson!” At that moment it clicked in my brain, I just spoke to one of the greatest college basketball players of all time, a four-time NBA All-Star, an NBA Rookie of the Year, and an NBA All-Star Game MVP. I was devastated that I didn’t get an autograph or even know who I was chatting with. I had missed an opportunity.
The story of the woman at the well in John 4 is one that is like my run-in with Mr. Sampson. No Ralph Sampson is nowhere near who Jesus is, but this woman, like me, was in the presence of greatness and did not realize it. It was not until Jesus began to tell this woman of her past that she realized there was something different about this guy. Here was a woman who came to this well when no one else was there. John tells us in verse 6 that it was noon. During those days’ women would travel earlier in the morning to get the water. They wanted to beat the heat and also get the water needed for that day. This woman came late to the party so to speak. Why was that? Many people have speculated on this, but perhaps she was ashamed? She could have come a little later to avoid the other ladies. Maybe she came to the well late because she had a “rough” night? We find out later that her life was filled with immorality so this could have possible been the case. Not only that, she was also a Samaritan. Samaritans and Jews hated each other. Jews looked down on Samaritans. However, Jesus was different. He walked in humility and treated people the same whether they were holy or if they were immoral, like this woman. As they conversed Jesus offered her his living water. Water to where she would never thirst again. Of course, Jesus was talking about the river of eternal life. The well spring of water that is within every believer.

The verse that rings out in my mind as we edge toward Easter is verse 42. This woman had seen the Messiah. She had encountered greatness and she finally saw Jesus for who he really was. She came back to the Samaritans and told them about Him. They invited him to come stay with them and he did. Once he left they testified saying, “we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Have you been in the presence of greatness and not realized it? Maybe you took it for granted? Maybe you have forgotten just how great Jesus is? This Easter I want to remind you to see Jesus for who he is. He was the Lamb of God sent to die for the sins of the world! Ralph Sampson is famous, but Jesus is the “Famous One”! What’s so awesome about Jesus is that he is famous, he is great, but he is also personal. He desires a relationship with us. The celebrity of all celebrities wants us to join him daily in conversation. He extends that same offer as he did the woman at the well, the gift of eternal life. This Easter season let’s remember Jesus for who he is, “The Savior of the World”.

Prayer for Lent
Father, we thank you for your grace and mercy that reaches to us every day. We thank you that you accept us as we are despite our past and mistakes. Father, it is my prayer today that we do not take your Son for granted. That we do not take who he was and his role in all of eternity for granted. He is and was the Savior of the world. We thank you that you sent him for us. Lord, may we, just like this woman at the well, go out into our communities to declare that you are the Savior of the world. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Due to the ongoing need for food assistance in BV during COVID-19, the BVMA community Lenten offering this year will be split between Community Share Food Bank, Stone Church of the Brethren Food Bank, and Bridge to Hope Food Bank. You may give to the BVMA community Lenten offering by making a check out to Buena Vista Ministerial Alliance and mailing your check to Stone Church of the Brethren at 2162 Forest Avenue Buena Vista, VA 24416 or dropping off your donation at the Stone Church of the Brethren office.

03/02/2021

Lent Devotional for the Week of March 3,
by Bob Banks (Pastor, Buena Vista Seventh Day Adventist Church)
March 3, 2021

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 35:1-7
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them;
and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing:
the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon,
they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God
Strengthen ye the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees.
Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not:
behold, your God will come with vengeance,
even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing:
for in the wilderness shall waters break out,
and streams in the desert.
And the parched ground shall become a pool,
and the thirsty land springs of water:
in the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

Reflection

It was a year ago when we first learned about this pesky new virus. The year 2020 will always be remembered as a year we had to hunker down in our homes, wear masks, keep our distance, watch riots, looting, and burnings across many cities in our nation. We hope to be free from this pandemic by the end of 2021 and achieve some semblance of peace and order in our lives. The situation of Israel in the first century was not much different from ours. Their troubles increased a desire for the arrival of the Messiah. The prophets assured them that their deliverer would make all things right. Here are some of the passages that gave them hope while waiting for that great day:

Is. 35:5-6
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
:6 Then shall the lame man leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute sing….


Also, in the 61st chapter of Isaiah is a list of some additional things to look forward to with the coming Deliverer. It lists a number of blessings the coming Messiah would bring:
1. “Preach good tidings unto the meek ”
2. “Bind up the brokenhearted”
3. “Proclaim liberty to the captives”
4. “Opening of the prison to them that are bound”
5. “Proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD”
And the next point, number 6 on the list, was especially anticipated:
6. “And the day of vengeance of our God” - when by the power of the Messiah all the enemies of Israel will be vanquished and Israel will be delivered. No longer would they be in bo***ge by a foreign nation, but they would be exalted victorious above all the nations of the earth.

Suddenly, one day around 27 A.D., a voice of alarm is heard in the wilderness. John the Baptist echoed the prophetic words, read so many centuries in the synagogue, encouraging the people of God that the Messiah was soon to arrive. John directed the hope of the people to Christ as he proclaimed, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight" (Luke 3:4). Jesus and John both said that the Kingdom of God was at hand. The excitement began to build. But on one Sabbath morning in Nazareth, many were taken by surprise. Jesus threw a curve-ball as he read from the scroll of Isaiah. Notice what he said as it’s recorded in the book of Luke:

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as his custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.
And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.
And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. (Luke 4:16-20) NKJV

Did you catch it? He didn’t finish reading the entire passage in Isaiah 61. Why did he mention the first 5 points and stop short of number 6? That part included the phrase, “the day of vengeance of our God”? It’s because the act of vengeance did not apply to the ministry of first coming. He proclaimed the message of the gospel. His second coming would be reserved for judgment against evil.

Jesus explained that there were two phases to his coming. The first is sometimes called the "kingdom of grace" (Heb 4:16). This kingdom grew as people responded to the preaching of the Gospel and chose to become citizens under the rule of God. Jesus taught the nature of this kingdom in many of his parables. The sower and the seed, the wheat and tares, the net, the treasure, and the goodly pearl, etc., all describe the silent working of the Spirit of God on the hearts of men. The second phase, the “kingdom of glory” (Mat 25:31) removes all sin and evil and makes all things new. When that Kingdom arrives there will be no more death or sorrow or sickness, neither any more pain (Rev 21:4).

But notice that Christ performed miracles which give assurance of God’s final restoration in the future (Heb 6:5). The blind can see; the deaf hear; the lame walk, and even the dead raised to life. Best of all, Jesus himself was raised from the grave and broke the shackles of the tomb. These miracles give us additional certainty that when the kingdom of glory does arrive, he will make all things new. During this Easter season, let us praise God that we can have a foretaste of the future glory as we surrender our lives to our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

Prayer
Lord, thank you that we can cling to the cross as the assurance of our salvation
And of your victory over the power of the death and the grave.
We praise you for inviting us to be citizens today in your Kingdom of Grace
We’re thankful that we can look forward to the day when you cleanse this world of all evil and make all things new in the Kingdom of Glory. Amen.

Due to the ongoing need for food assistance in BV during COVID-19, the BVMA community Lenten offering this year will be split between Community Share Food Bank, Stone Church of the Brethren Food Bank, and Bridge to Hope Food Bank. You may give to the BVMA community Lenten offering by making a check out to Buena Vista Ministerial Alliance and mailing your check to Stone Church of the Brethren at 2162 Forest Avenue Buena Vista, VA 24416 or dropping off your donation at the Stone Church of the Brethren office.

02/23/2021

BVMA Lenten Devotional Reflection for February 24, 2021

Scripture reading is from Psalm 23 (KJV)
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

If you ….?
How many times in our lives have you been challenged with this kind of question: “If you are so in so, then do this… or “If you are so smart, can you beat that?” Again: “I hear you went to a Revival Service where others lifted you up as a strong person. If you are, tell me, why don’t you do …?” I’m sure most of us have been challenged or put under a “magnifying glass” in an attempt to find ways to confront your honest faith”. I’ve had many, but there is one that still bug’s me that happened when I was an over- trusting teenager. I was thirteen and my cousin, who was three years my senior (Charlie had all the toys plus a new Corvette), somehow thought I had special boxing skills. Little to my awareness, he had been bragging to his friends, saying things like: “Louis is really strong for his age and a good fighter.” Well, time passed and one evening I heard that Charlie had set me up for a fight with one of his buddies brothers who was my same age, a boy that I had never met. I didn’t see that coming! Of course, I liked his bragging about me but now I’m hearing: “If you are such a good fighter then prove it!

We find illustrations of these “If you’s” in Luke’s account of Jesus crucifixion on the cross, and in Jesus’s temptation experience. How many times was he asked on the cross: “If you are…?” Luke lists three: The King of the Jews, the Messiah, the Son of God. To those watching Jesus hang on the cross, he certainly didn’t appear to be any special person or any messiah they could recall. Surely not someone with power to drive out those Romans, currently not standing out as the famous Moses or Elijah. To some, they hoped he would free himself, jump down from the cross and defeat those Roman soldiers, proving to the skeptics that he is “The Man”, The King of the Jews, truly, Their Anointed One!

In Luke’s account of Jesus’ temptation after his baptism, we discover two verses that say “If you are…” and one verse “If you will…” (4:3, 4:6,4:9) coming from Jesus’s experience with the Tempter. In Both challenge events, from the cross and the wilderness experience were personal. From the extremes of the wilderness experience to the cross, we find that Jesus provides us with good guidance on how to approach any temptations that we might face. Through those “ifs” directed to Jesus, we discover answers for self- indulgence, egoism and materialism. Through Lent, we can be challenged to “zero in” on one after the other prompted by those “what ifs” usually found through practical tools and emotional intelligence. But, how often do we take time to distinguish the abiding words of God and those seductive voices of a tempter? Is being dedicated more to the powers of this world more important than growing in Christ’s Kingdom? Do we ask where is God’s voice is in today’s stressful social challenges. Is winning everything even at the cost of obscuring our deeper connectedness in faith development the way to go?

Oh yes, back to that fight set up by my cousin Charlie. This fight was not in some boxing arena with sport controls, it was in a deserted field on the out skirts of Odessa, Texas … with strangers! There I was looking at someone my size who (by all appearances) wanted to fight. What did this boy hear that made him so angry? Apparently, this was a win-lose situation but for what reason? I had no real desire to fight this boy. My energy and drive to do this, wasn’t there! Here I was, thinking: “Is winning everything?”. So, after several minutes of knuckle punches and being thrown on the ground, I lost … but. did I? Yes, my ego was crushed and I was able to walk away with several cuts and bruises. I never saw this boy or his friends again. In my fear of rejection from Charlie due to losing this fight, Charlie walked over, hugged me and apologized for setting it up. At that moment, I knew Charlie still cared even though I lost. Yes, I lost the fight but I didn’t lose him. Over the years, I have never asked him why he set up this fight or how he truly felt afterwards.

Over time, when I think of this fight event, it’s usually with some frustration. At thirteen, did I also get caught up in the “If you’s” and had to prove it to myself and Charlie? I’m sure that was part of my rationale but there had to have been something else. In Jesus’s temptation experience as well as his suffering on the cross, there is one reality that stands out for me and that was his honesty! We find in scripture that Jesus was honest with every temptation experience even while painfully hanging on the cross. What if I had been honest to myself and to my cousin at the very beginning of this situation, would that fight have happened?

Today it’s easy to rationalize that the powers of self -indulgence, egoism and materialism (loved his Corvette and other toys) should not have pushed out my honesty with Charlie, but at thirteen any deeper connectiveness in faith development wasn’t there. I lacked those practical tools personally and relationally as well as needed emotional maturity. In those days Charlie was my idol and today I realize how much he meant to me at that time. Today I just thank God for the many ways honesty and especially maturity comes through life, through relatives, friends, schools, scripture and the church. Samuel Ullman, in one of his quotes says:
“Maturity is the ability to think, speak and act your feelings within the bounds of dignity (honesty?). The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become during most of your frustrations.”
Lent always brings us to questions like this: If you are with Christ, what do you become during most of your frustrations? Yes, I have frustrations and thank God, there is also Grace.

Prayer for Lent God of Love, Grace and Mercy, as the days of Lent come about, our prayers are to reflect on your Love, a Love made visible through Jesus the Christ. Yes, our prayers are to align our hearts and minds more closely with Christ through the reading of scripture, fasting and gracefulness. Please strengthen our desire to go along with Jesus’ suffering today and every day. With your grace, we pray that we live Lent more fully and continue with transformed hearts into the promised life of Easter morning. Amen
Due to the ongoing need for food assistance in BV during COVID-19, the BVMA community Lenten offering this year will be split between Community Share Food Bank, Stone Church of the Brethren Food Bank, and Bridge to Hope Food Bank. You may give to the BVMA community Lenten offering by making a check out to Buena Vista Ministerial Alliance and mailing your check to Stone Church of the Brethren at 2162 Forest Avenue Buena Vista, VA 24416 or dropping off your donation at the Stone Church of the Brethren office.