October 14, 2019

It’s Monday – the beginning of a new week. New starts are vitally important. They are important because given our recalcitrant and recidivistic nature there is always the need to start anew.  But, deeply embedded in our life in Christ is this truth – the wrongs and dead ends and boneheaded maneuvers of yesterday and the day before do not and cannot be the final story.  

This is not just platitudinal.  It’s scriptural. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23) Although our wayward ways will never come to an end on this side of the Jordan, neither will God’s mercies. When you turn the page on a new day, you will find His steadfast love already written there.

“O God, the King eternal, whose light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning: Drive far from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to keep your law, and guide our feet into the way of peace; that, having done your will with cheerfulness during the day, we may, when night comes, rejoice to give you thanks, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (A Collect for the Renewal of Life – BCP p. 99)

October 11th, 2019

Having to do something that you don’t want to do presents you with a few options. You can just not do it and deal with the consequences. You can try to get somebody else to do it for you and deal with the loss of relational capital with that person. You can grin and bear it, gut it out, and get ‘er done, which usually leaves you frustrated and whatever you had to do not done particularly well.

There is another way. Particularly if the thing you don’t want to do is what you know you should do – the right thing to do. In the prayer from this past Tuesday’s Almost Daily Devotion we asked God for the grace to “love what (He) commands.” Thomas Cranmer, the author of most of these BCP prayers, really liked that notion because the same phrase shows up in the prayer we’ll pray today.

Cranmer taught that what the heart loves, the mind justifies, and the will pursues. You can try to fake it till you make it, but your fake will not look like the real thing and you won’t make it in any kind of satisfactory way. What you need is a change of heart – a true desire to do what God desires. That desire doesn’t come from will power; it comes from God himself! This is what the Apostle Paul tells us. “Glory to God whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3:20) In another place, Jesus tells us that we do not have because we do not ask. So, let’s ask!

“Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Proper 25 – BCP p. 235)

October 10th, 2019

“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Corinthians 4:5)

Lauding a person or an institution is always a mistake. While we can most definitely give thanks to God for a source of goodness in this world, heaping praise is bad for both the praise giver and the praise bearer. The praise giver often has sycophantic (or at least self-oriented) motives and the praise bearer will more often then not begin to believe his or her own press clippings.

Hagiography in any form is a poor substitute for plain gratitude. Laud and praise is to be directed to God alone.  Paul continues this line of thought in his 2cd letter to the Corinthians. “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)

There is only one name under heaven by which we are saved.  And it’s not yours or mine. Thankfully.

“Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illuminated by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Second Sunday after the Epiphany – BCP p. 215)

October 9, 2019

The high point of the Baptism Liturgy in our BCP is the moment when the minister dips his or her thumb in oil, makes the sign of the cross on the candidate’s forehead and says “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.” There is particular poignancy in this moment when the baptismal candidate is an infant. As the child grows – and perhaps wanders – parents who can recall that claim will find it to be a source of help and promise.

In 1757, a young pastor named Robert Robinson wrote the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” It is still a perennial favorite because it is true to life and brimming with grace. “Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.” (Grace)  And, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.”  (True to life)

You are sealed.  St. Paul tells us this in Ephesians 1:13. “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” So, friends, you are Christ’s own forever. Signed, sealed, delivered, Lord – I’m yours.

“Almighty God, by our baptism into the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, you turn us from the old life of sin: Grant that we, being reborn to new life in him, may live in righteousness and holiness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.”  (At Baptism – BCP p. 254)

October 8th, 2019

Are you religious? I’m not! It’s true that you are reading (and I’m writing) this devotional because we both wish to have a deeper connection to God. Obviously, that is a good thing and the very source of true joy in this life. But just as Stevie Wonder told us that “superstition ain’t the way”, religion ain’t the way, either.

Remember our devotion about “spirituality”? (September 24th) Same rules apply here. Our friend Fleming Rutledge reminds us that religion is either an “organized system of belief or, alternatively, a loose collection of ideas and practices, projected out of humanity’s needs and wishes.” Freud famously called religion the “opiate of the people.” A better description might be the “burden of the people” – an endless striving to make ourselves acceptable to God.

Is eschewing religion an odd stance for church people? Well, there was a group of people in the early church who thought so. They tried to pile all kinds of religious practices on the new Christians. But St. Paul took umbrage and declared “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. That means his death gave you immediate access and connection to your Father in heaven, who loves you. So, friends, I’ll see you in church on Sunday, but only so we can hear again the Good News, be nourished by Christ’s body and blood, and sing the praises of the One who has set us free.

“Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” (For the Mission of the Church – BCP p. 816)

October 7, 2019

Most people want to get better – to be better people. The Christian vernacular for this is sanctification. Christians generally understand this term to mean, “being made holy.”  If you are like me, a quick inventory of an average day’s worth of “things done and left undone” leaves me thoroughly unconvinced of my own sanctification. Holy I am not.

I find the generic meaning of sanctification more helpful. According to the Baker’s Dictionary of Biblical Theology, to be sanctified is to be “in the state of proper functioning.”  To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by it’s designer. For example, a pen is “sanctified” when it is used to write.  That means that you and I are sanctified when we live our lives in the knowledge of God’s love, grace, and forgiveness.

St. John says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:8-9)  The gospel tells us that we have already been sanctified by Christ’s blood shed on the cross. To be in a state of proper functioning is to be honest with God about our wrongdoing and receive again and again the assurance of his grace and mercy. In Him, our true and proper joys are found.

“Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”  (Fifth Sunday in Lent – BCP p. 219)

October 4, 2019

Yesterday we talked about the inevitable loose ends of life. Loose-endedness particularly applies to relationships. Even the people we love the most, and the ones that love us the most will let us down. There will be gaps that are unfilled, leaks that intermittently drip, and expectations that are unmet. Sadly, some relationships exist in a state of disrepair or rupture.

God knows this. In Romans 12:18, St. Paul says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Of course we want to live at peace with everyone. But, I love the realistic caveat in that verse. Sometimes it just isn’t possible to live at peace. Sometimes the hurt is too deep. Sometimes we are just not up to the task.  And as we just said, God knows this.

When God moves us to pray for peace with others, we know that we are being moved in the right direction. Here’s a prayer for today, a prayer that thankfully recognizes that living at peace does not depend on us, but on the “grace of the Holy Spirit.”

“O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ  our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Proper 9 – BCP p. 230)

October 3, 2019

Our lives are filled with loose ends. I’ve got such a strong need for closure, for tidy endings, for completion. Yet, to be human is to live among the frayed ends and unfinished sentences.

In his final address to the Diocese of Virginia, Bishop Peter Lee said, “We Christians declare that the Author and Finisher of our faith is Jesus Christ and not ourselves. We place at the center of our lives the cross. It is a dramatic sign of interruption, of unfinished business, unfinished from a human perspective, at least, and Christianity commands us to follow that cross along the paths of our own lives. That means that tidy endings and finished business are not to be ours—not ever. Our endings are like frayed rope. There are loose ends, threads that go nowhere, untidy and disorderly strands.”

That is profound. And relieving, too – it’s not up to me to tie it all up in a neat bow. I can’t do that anyway. As Bishop Lee mentions, Jesus is the “author and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2) We know that when Christ comes again, the disorderly strands of our lives will be woven together in a majestic tapestry. Until then, the best thing for us to do is to follow the urging of the author of Hebrews and “fix our eyes on Jesus.”

“O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” (Wednesday in Easter Week – BCP p. 223)

October 2, 2019

“Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fisherman. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Mark 1:1-18)

In this passage in Mark, Jesus chooses His first followers. Much has been made of the fishermen’s immediate reaction to Jesus’ call. They dropped their nets in the same way that we “drop everything” when something crucially important comes up. Clearly, something about Jesus was incredibly compelling.

But the often over looked detail I want to highlight today is that during Jesus’ day, disciples chose rabbis – rabbis didn’t choose disciples!  So Jesus’ call to Simon and Andrew must have had some kind of shock and awe value to it. Later, Jesus says as much in John 15:16 – “You did not choose me, but I chose and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.”

Jesus has chosen you, too. This is extremely comforting news. If you’re like me, you don’t always “make good choices” – that Jesus has chosen you takes the choice right out of your hands.

“Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give us, who are called by your holy Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.”  (St. Andrew – BCP p. 237)

October 1, 2019

Yesterday we talked about power: what it is and what it isn’t in relation to God. The Collect for the Third Sunday in Lent begins this way: “Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves:”. I love the way that prayer starts. Hey God, look here. It’s me again. You know the deal. I’ve got nothing.

We say we know that God knows we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves. Rarely do we really know that ourselves, though. At least, not until you find yourself once again at whatever Ground Zero you return to again and again and again. Like the movie “Groundhog Day,” you’re there again, thinking, “Good Lord! I can’t believe I’m here again. Really?”

Yes, really. God knows that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves. That is why He tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6 to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”  So, really, starting from Ground Zero once again is not such a bad thing. It’s no surprise to God, anyway.

“Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”  (Third Sunday in Lent – BCP p. 218)

September 30, 2019

Martin Luther told us that God is a Leftie. Or at least that is how He expresses his power. By that, Luther means that in a world obsessed with right-handed power (strength, intimidation, dominance, sabre-rattling, and media-blitzes), God enters stage left as a baby, learns the humble trade of carpentry, chooses nobodies to be his cohorts, and finally dies between two criminals outside the city gates. Even His resurrection is without any hint of fanfare: just a tucked-away empty tomb discovered by some women. Aptly, the risen Jesus is mistaken for the lowly gardener rather than the mighty landowner.

Early on, God had a go at right-handed power, then decided to swear it off. After the Flood, in which He wiped clean the wicked people of the earth along with their wicked ways, He said, “I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood…. And God said, ‘This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you for all future generations. I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.” (Genesis 9:11-13)

For all the world, left-handed power seems like no power at all. But, then again, is there any power greater than the power of love? Just asking, but if Almighty God trades in His sabre for a rainbow, what kinds of ways might you lead with your left today?

“O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.”  (Proper 21 – BCP p. 234)

September 27, 2019

Yesterday we compared life to a courtroom.  Life can also be like a hospital – a place we go to tend to our wounds and illnesses. I don’t believe this is an overly morose comparison – even when the vessel of your body is relatively ship-shape, you still routinely deal with “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”.  And sometimes you experience them to such a degree that like Hamlet you are tempted to throw in the towel. (Act III, Scene I)

The good news for us is that Jesus’ incarnation was one big Hospital Visit.  In Mark 2:17, Jesus says, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” In other words, your maladies, no matter what form they take, qualify you to get lifetime, one on one care from the Great Physician, as He has come to be known.

And just to finish the analogy – there is no need for HMOs or co-payments. He paid the bill in full with his own wounds. Like the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, standing atop the city with His arms stretched wide, His enduring word remains: “Come unto me all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will refresh you.” (Matthew 11:28)

“O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to us the help of your power, that our sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.” (For Recovery From Sickness – BCP p. 458)

September 26, 2019

It’s been said that life is like a courtroom. We find we need to defend ourselves against the judgment and accusation of others. Sometimes that judgment is real, more often it is imagined. Another person’s “success”, or what appears to be success to us will cause us to judge ourselves. You know the saying: “you are your own worst critic.” So many of our prison sentences are self-imposed.

St. Paul knew this universal proclivity, but also knew the way to commute the sentence. “I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.” (1 Corinthians 4:3-4) What Paul is saying is the lens by which we perceive judgment – whether from ourselves or others – is so warped and faulty that it is better to disregard the accusations altogether.

And in any case, the only person fit for the job of judgment is the Lord. And if that is the case, then go ahead and walk scot free out of that courtroom door. And while you’re at it, put your hand in the hand of the man who said, “I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” (John 12:47)  For, He is our only Mediator and Advocate.

“Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.”  (Proper 22 – BCP p. 234)

September 25, 2019

When St. Paul was struggling with some vexing and apparently intractable difficulty, he prayed 3 times for God to remove his burden. This was God’s answer. “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

It’s hard to imagine a more counter-intuitive stance than Paul’s embrace of his weakness. And he’s not just embracing, but advertising (boasting of) his difficulties. This doesn’t mean that you have to be a walking talking Debbie Downer (Saturday Night Live 2004). Nor does it mean that you have to make a full time job of inhabiting your problems. And it also doesn’t mean that you don’t have gifts to share and strengths to celebrate.

It just means that your weaknesses (yes, you have lots of them, just like I do) are the hot spots of God’s activity in your life. In Christ, your weaknesses are not problems to be solved or covered up, but the very places of God’s power and grace.

“Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.”  (Proper 18 – BCP p. 233)

September 24th, 2019

People sometimes say that they want to be “more spiritual.” I understand what they mean; they want to have a closer relationship with God and not be so caught up in the cares and demands of the world. Being in a close relationship with God is a good thing, but if I read my bible right, God is not interested at all in “spirituality.” Instead, He just wants you to be the human being He has created you to be!

Eugene Peterson’s translation of the bible called The Message captures this thought in Romans 12:1-2. “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.”

Your everyday, ordinary, walking around life – sleeping, eating, going to work – is what God is interested in. Here’s a prayer to help you ask God to be right smack dab in the middle of that life today.

“Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.” (From A General Thanksgiving – BCP p. 836)

September 23, 2019

C. S. Lewis observed this daily occurrence: “It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind.”

So true, but how do you shove all the wild, rushing animals back? How do you listen to That Other Voice? Not by willpower, for sure. The practice of detachment is helpful, but only a 50-50 proposition in my experience. Mindfulness is an ally too – simply recognizing the shape and species of the wild animals as they rush in will begin to defang the beasts.

The surest way to experience the larger, stronger, quieter life is to admit your inability to control the animals (you are not a professional lion tamer, after all!) and ask God to be in charge of Everything – you, your animals, your frets and fusses, your very being. As St. Paul says, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

Here’s a prayer to get you on your way today.

“Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you, and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  (A Prayer of Self-Dedication – BCP p. 832)

September 20th, 2019

In 1987, Wallace Stegner wrote a novel called “Crossing to Safety”, his title taken from an earlier Robert Frost poem. The novel and poem I recommend, but the title is resonates today. Depending on one’s circumstances (or one’s mood or state of mental health) the world sometimes feels like an unsafe place. There is some scriptural evidence to back this up. “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

When you hear his low growls or feel the earth around you shake under his paws, then Psalm 27 is your go to. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid….For in the day of trouble he shall keep me safe in his shelter; he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling and set me high upon a rock.” 

In Christ you have already crossed to safety. That is true for today, tomorrow, and forever.

“Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.” (A Collect for Grace - BCP p.100)

September 19th, 2019

“So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next.”

Philosopher Thomas Hobbes (re: Calvin and Hobbes!) was born on April 5, 1588 to a clergyman and his wife in Wiltshire, England and later went to Oxford for his education. Memorably, he called life “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Thomas Jefferson (you know his details) argued that the pursuit of happiness – and by logical extension its acquisition - was an inalienable right endowed by our Creator. Somewhere in between, the Serenity Prayer concludes with this hope: reasonable happiness in this life and supreme happiness with God in the next.

The Bible has widely divergent views on the subject. Job 5:7 tells us “man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.”  Yet, Jesus says, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Are you glass half full or half empty? What I know is that happiness is only experienced as a by-product of a life laid down and given away in love. When happiness becomes a goal, a pursuit, it will always be just out of reach.

“O heavenly Father, who has filled this world with beauty: Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand in all your works; that, rejoicing in your whole creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness; for the sake of him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.” (For Joy in God’s Creation – BCP p. 814)

September 18th, 2019

“Trusting that You will make all things right, as I surrender to Your will”

True confessions, and with all due respect to Professor Niebuhr, I changed one word in this Serenity Prayer. But the one word makes ALL difference. The original version says that God will make all things right IF we surrender to His will. This does 2 things: 1) seriously overestimates our ability to surrender anything, and 2) seriously underestimates God’s love, grace, power, and sovereignty. 

Even when we want to surrender, sometimes we just can’t. Jesus, Himself, recognized this as He said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) If God were dependent on our actions and abilities, the grace of God would be robbed of any true goodness and comfort. But, thankfully, God will not be thwarted, for “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

And He will make all things right. As St. Julian of Norwich 650 years ago, “all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” 

“O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.” (Proper 12 - BCP. 231)

September 17th, 2019

“Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.”

This, in my opinion, is the most powerful part of the Serenity Prayer. St. Paul tells us that Jesus Christ “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17) And yet, the One who created all things, rules all things, and in whom all things hold together, took this sinful world as it actually is.

What does this mean? He didn’t bat an eye at the woman at the well, who was working on her 5th (as far as we know) lover. He seemed to have no problem with his disciple Matthew’s shady past as a tax collector. And most astoundingly of all, he allowed himself to be led as a sheep to his own slaughter on the cross, never uttering a mumbling word.

What would just one day (this day!) of your life be like if you were to take this sinful world (the world, others, yourself) as it actually is? Sounds like the sound of a mysterious freedom to me.

“Most loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who care for us: Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.” (Collect for 8th Sunday after the Epiphany – BCP p. 216)