Carol’s Comments

Luke 9: 23-26 NIV ²³Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. ²⁵What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? ²⁶If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

This season of Lent we are having some Lenten sketches during worship entitled “Whose Cross is it Anyway?” by Mark and Karla Jensen.  By the time you read this newsletter we will have witnessed two sketches.  All throughout Lent, the JPS (Jerusalem Parcel Service) man tries to [deliver] a cross. Following the company's motto of "Prompt delivery service anywhere in Israel," the JPS man takes it to disciples John and Andrew, a church secretary and a woman concerned that it may not match the decor of her home. All refuse delivery, though the cross comes free and undeserved. During each week of Lent, it makes the rounds to many customers with surprising, funny and moving results. Mary Magdalene already has a cross. Martha would rather make her own. Peter denies having anything to do with it. Judas says he doesn't deserve it. This drama in six parts reveals how people make excuses for not wanting Jesus in their lives. [1]

In the season of Lent we “focus on discipline and penitence, and [it] is a time for increased reflection on the life, teaching, and sacrificial death of Christ.”[2]  It is a time when we traditionally “give up something for Lent.”  We, in other words, decide to forego something.  It might be food or an attitude or a behavior.  We call it “denying ourselves” for Christ’s sake. I read an article recently by Julie Clawson at blog.sojo.net/author/Julie_clawson in which she talks about Lent not being about denial.  What I appreciated about her article was that whereas through eons we have focused on ourselves and about “denying” ourselves during Lent, she states, “But Lent isn’t about denial; it is about transformation.  It is the season in which we prepare to encounter Christ’s sacrifice by endeavoring to become more Christ like ourselves. Transformation is about letting ourselves be filled with God’s presence so that we can be shaped by God’s grace.  Our acts of kenosis — denying ourselves in order to empty ourselves enough to allow God to fill us — are means to an end.  They are disciplines that prepare us to be transformed.  We deny ourselves so that we can be reborn as new creations — to live more fully as the kingdom citizens God desires us to be.”[3]

So as you prepare to “deny” yourself of chocolate, spending, a reactive emotion or whatever you need to let go of or give up, remember that we do so in order to allow God to fill us.  The Lenten sketches are one way to help us reflect upon how the cross of Jesus Christ has transformed the world and can transform us.  Ponder what your reaction would be if the JPS man came to your door and wanted to deliver the cross to you, what would your response be?  Would you be empty enough to accept it?  I pray that it would be so.

With Christ, Within Christ,

Pastor Carol Pfeiffer

Pastor Carol M. Pfeiffer grew up in the rolling hill country of Hocking County, Ohio.  After graduating from Otterbein College with a B.S. degree in Education, she taught elementary school for six years.  Stopping to rear their four sons, she later returned to teaching as a substitute teacher in the public school system, and also taught in a private Christian school for two years.  Sensing God’s call to ministry, she attended Bethany Theological Seminary where she graduated in June 1996, with a Master in Divinity degree. Pastor Pfeiffer was ordained in 1997 at Salem Church of the Brethren, Englewood, Ohio, and her home congregation.  She has served as interim pastor in Southern Ohio District at Beavercreek Church of the Brethren and New Covenant Church of the Brethren.  She also served Peace Church of the Brethren in Council Bluffs, Iowa, as well as doing pulpit supply.  Her first full-time pastorate was at English River Church of the Brethren in South English, Iowa.  She comes to North Liberty after serving six years as pastor at Nettle Creek Church of the Brethren, Hagerstown, Indiana.  Her spouse, Robert A. Pfeiffer, is also an ordained pastor.   They have been married 36 years and have four grown sons, Mark, Andrew, Philip, and Paul. Bob and Carol have one daughter-in-law, Gloria, who is Andrew’s spouse.  Pastor Pfeiffer serves and shares the love of Christ with the people of North Liberty Church of the Brethren, the town community, the larger church body, and everyone she meets.

"The most curative thought in the world is the thought of love." Ruth Stafford Peale

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