October 26, 2021

“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.” (Matthew 13:45)

The Wind in the Willows is a must read, or a must re-read, or even a must re-re-read.  In one chapter, Mole and Rat trudge late on a snowy night toward Rat’s riverbank home. Mole has been gone from his underground home for months now. But as they journey, they come near his home – and the scent calls to him. 

“It was one of those mysterious fairy calls from out of the void that reached Mole in the darkness, making him tingle through and through with it’s very familiar appeal, even while as yet he could not clearly remember what it was. He stopped dead in his tracks, his nose searching hither and thither in its efforts to recapture the fine filament, the telegraphic current that had so strongly moved him.”

Then Mole remembers. “Home! That was what they meant, those caressing appeals, those soft touches wafted through the air, those invisible little hands, pulling and tugging, all one way!”

The Kingdom of Heaven is like that – calling, pulling, tugging, appealing. Jesus is the merchant searching for you, the pearl. And the Kingdom of Heaven is our True Home. 

“Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Proper 23 – BCP)

October 25, 2021

Grateful Dead lyrics – like Faulkner’s answers to interview questions – defy any one interpretation. The Wheel is no exception.

The wheel is turning and you can't slow down,
You can't let go and you can't hold on,
You can't go back and you can't stand still,
If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will.

Won't you try just a little bit harder,
Couldn't you try just a little bit more?
Won't you try just a little bit harder,
Couldn't you try just a little bit more?

I don’t know what Jerry meant anymore than you do, but the song is deeply resonant. One response to the inevitability of life’s pressures – from within and without – is to try a little bit harder, try a little bit more. Another response is to hoist up the white flag of surrender and ask Jesus to take the Wheel!

The prophet Jeremiah says this: “I know, God, that mere mortals can’t run their own lives, that men and women don’t have what it takes to take charge of life.”

(Jeremiah 10:23)

“O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Sixth Sunday after Epiphany – BCP)

October 22, 2021

The popular podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill chronicles the meteoric rise of Mark Driscoll’s church, finally undone by Mark’s hubris – pride which led to a culture of turmoil and abuse among the staff. Hubris is an Achilles heel for any leader. And not just leaders, but all humans.

Here's what Jesus says. “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10: 42-45)

Where does this touch down for you today?

“Almighty and everlasting God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift: Send down upon our bishops, and other clergy, and upon the congregations committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace; and, that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honor of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.” (For Clergy and People – BCP p. 817)

October 21, 2021

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:2)

In Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis describes how he received certain glimpses of a world beyond his experience, yet deep within him. 

The second glimpse came through Squirrel Nutkin; through it only, though I loved all the Beatrix Potter books. But the rest of them were merely entertaining; it administered the shock, it was a trouble. It troubled me with what I can only describe as the Idea of Autumn. It sounds fantastic to say that one can be enamored of a season, but that is something like what happened; and, as before, the experience was one of intense desire. And one went back to the book, not to gratify the desire (that was impossible — how can one possess Autumn?) but to reawake it. And in this experience also there was the same surprise and the same sense of incalculable importance. It was something quite different from ordinary life and even from ordinary pleasure; something, as they would now say, “in another dimension.”

Enjoy this beautiful and awe-filled Autumn day.

“Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Proper 29 – BCP p. 236)

October 20, 2021

It’s true that Jesus died for the sins of the world, but during His earthly life He didn’t do everything that people asked Him to do. He didn’t heal all the people who needed healing. He fed the 5000, but not everyone else. He spoke to the multitudes, but most people never heard the sound of His voice.

Not everything is yours to fix. What are you trying to fix right now that just can’t be fixed by you? Not everything is yours to do. What have you left undone that just can’t be done by you?

Here is what the Bible says. “The Lord will fight for you; just stay calm.” (Exodus 14:14)

“O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (For Guidance – BCP p. 832)

October 19, 2021

Here’s my new favorite Hemingway quote: “I love sleep. My life has a tendency to fall apart when I’m awake, you know?”

I had a brief period in my 20s, probably after I had read “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, when I tried to sleep only 4-5 hours a night in order to maximize my output, efficiency, and engagement with the world. Fortunately, I didn’t have enough discipline to carry out this stupid idea.

Sleep, when we are lucky enough to enjoy it, is a nightly Sabbath, a total trust in God, a surrender of the agency we hold so dear. (Granted, dreams are another matter, but just put that aside for the moment.) 

The psalmist says, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8)

Sleep well!

“O heavenly Father, you give your children sleep for the refreshing of soul and body: Grant me this gift, I pray; keep me in that perfect peace which you have promised to those whose minds are fixed on you; and give me such a sense of your presence, that in the hours of silence I may enjoy the blessed assurance of your love; through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen.” (For Sleep – BCP)

October 18, 2021

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Walking back home after a day of tailgating and UVA football, I encountered a young scholar on the opposite side of Rugby Road. Toting a case of Natty Lite, he called out, “Sir! Sir! Would you like a beer?” Had he proffered a nice IPA I might have agreed, but I decided to pass on the Natty Lite. “Why, that’s very kind of you, but no thank you.” Our scholar persisted. “I thought that you might be visiting your son or your daughter and that you might like a beer.” He seemed a little dejected at my refusal.

Undoubtedly, the young man’s kind action bore some relation to the amount of Natty Lite he had already consumed, but still I was touched by the encounter. Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit and it sure helps the world go round.

“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.” (A Prayer Attributed to St. Francis – BCP p. 833)

October 15, 2021

Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)

When Jesus tells us not to worry about our lives, He makes no qualifications – no hemming and hawing. He does not say, “do not worry, except for your children. You should worry about them. And also the state of the world. You should spend at least a little time worrying about that.” Etc.

Your Father is in charge of it all. You are His child, a lamb in His little flock. Fear not. It is His good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Which, by the way, is way beyond anything we could ask for or imagine.

“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)

October 14, 2021

Here’s a little gem from American poet William Stafford called Any Morning.

Just lying on the couch and being happy. / Only humming a little, the quiet sound in the head. / Trouble is busy elsewhere at the moment, it has / so much to do in the world.

People who might judge are mostly asleep; they can't / monitor you all the time, and sometimes they forget. / When dawn flows over the hedge you can / get up and act busy. / Little corners like this, pieces of Heaven / left lying around, can be picked up and saved. / People won't even see that you have them, / they are so light and easy to hide. / Later in the day you can act like the others. / You can shake your head. You can frown.

On a related note, the psalmist says this. “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42:1-2)

O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercy, grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last. Amen.” (In the Evening – BCP p. 833)

October 13, 2021

The etymology of the word “fret” is telling. To fret is to perseverate about an issue – you just can’t let it go. But our word “fret” comes from the Old English “fretan”, which means to “devour, feed upon, or consume.” Makes sense – worry can eat you up.

Here is what the Bread of Life (fretting’s antithesis) says.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”  (Luke 12: 22-26)

Do not worry about your life. Wow!

“O God of peace, who hast taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presences, where we may be still and know that thou art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (For Quiet Confidence – BCP p. 832)

October 12, 2021

I wonder how many of us suffer from a strain of perfectionism. In an excellent This American Life podcast called “My Bad”, listeners were asked to send in their most embarrassing moments. Of course, the episode was hilarious, but the host’s summary was poignant.

She noticed that a large majority of people were still deeply ashamed of their embarrassing moment, some nearly crippled by it. Her conclusion – we think we are not allowed to make mistakes in life. We expect to skate through life with a perfect record.

Here is what the psalmist says about that. “The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.” (Psalm 37:23-24)

We will fall over and over and over and over and over again. But we will not be cast headlong. It will be okay.

“Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Proper 23 – BCP)

October 8, 2021

“October / And the trees are stripped bare / Of all they wear / what do I care?

October / And kingdoms rise / And kingdoms fall / But you go on and on.”

The trees are not stripped bare of all they wear in October, at least not in Central Virginia. But Bono’s lyrics are right. Kingdoms rise and Kingdoms fall, but God Almighty goes on and on. That which we hold dear and that which is the thorn in our side will eventually fall away. 

St. Paul reminds us of life’s temporality as well. “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20)

This too shall pass. God and His love will not.

“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 for ever. Amen.” (Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany – BCP p. 216)

October 7, 2021

Following up on the childlike theme from yesterday. Jesus famously says that we are to be like little children in order to enter the Kingdom of God. That saying is a diamond that can be eternally turned to reveal a new facet. 

One facet of little children is their total inattention to time. Children do not plan for the next day. (Hhhm…. Whatever am I going to have for snack time tomorrow?) They tend not to worry about what happened the day before. They do not worry about what will happen in the future. As children get older, all of this creeps in. But remember that Jesus is talking about little children.

You are a child. Yes, you might be a teen or young adult or middle-aged, or long in the tooth. But fundamentally you are a child – a child with a Father who is in charge of your life.

Jesus says, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.” (Matthew 6:34)

“Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Proper 20 – BCP)

October 6, 2021

Yesterday a 2 ½ year-old girl told me about going to ride a glassed-in elevator on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. Her vocal excitement quickly became physical. She just had to jump up and down and up and down to explain how thrilling the elevator was going to be. She was literally overwhelmed by the joy of life.

“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord.” (Psalm 96: 11-13)

I pray that God will make you childlike today, giving you cause to be overwhelmed by His goodness.

“Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. Amen.” (From A General Thanksgiving – BCP p. 836)

October 5, 2021

“Vampires are the best metaphor for the human condition. Here you have a monster with a soul that’s immortal, yet in a biological body…. A vampire is perfect…because he transcends time — yet he can be destroyed, go mad and suffer; it’s intensely about the human dilemma.”

That’s from author Anne Rice. She’s got a point, I think. We are bound for the Promised Land, signed, sealed, and delivered by the cross of Christ, yet we still suffer and even go mad. And we also know that our bodies will be destroyed as well.

Yet – hear these words from Job, quoted at the beginning of our funeral liturgy.  “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27)

Thankfully, we fare better than vampires. Although, it must be said, we are sustained by the Blood of Christ!

“The Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto eternal life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ’s blood was shed for thee, and be thankful.” (BCP – p. 338)

October 12, 2021

You know what it feels like to be met with resistance. Trying to get a child to do something she doesn’t want to do. Having your agenda blocked at work. The cold shoulder or unreturned phone call from someone you thought was a friend. You meet yourself with resistance too – your spirit willing but your flesh weak.

When God entered the world, He was met with violent resistance. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” (John 1:11) That resistance (our resistance) extended all the way to the foot of the cross.

And yet, God ultimate met our resistance with welcome. Crazy, huh?

“Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we 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)

October 1, 2021

Following up on yesterday’s theme (He must increase, I must decrease), St. Paul sees John the Baptist and raises the stakes. Here is Paul’s take. 

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

The decrease continues to its terminal point: I no longer live. Paul’s message is that our life in Christ is everything! And we live in gratitude for His death on the cross for us. This is in stark contrast to the way of the world: assertion of rights, exultation of the self, insistence on identity. So clamorous, so tiresome, especially in myself.

Come, Lord Jesus!

“Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we 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)

September 30, 2021

I don’t know exactly what Neil Young had in mind when he sang “It’s better to burn out than to fade away”. But, I’m not sure I agree with him. When Kurt Cobain included that line on his suicide note, even Neil admitted that he was shaken. 

There is something to be said for fading away, if by fading away we mean the overweening ego fades into the background. I’ve seen a bumper sticker that says, “Love = No Ego.” 

John the Baptist, fulfilling his role to point to Jesus, said “He must become greater and greater and I must become less and less.” (John 3:30) That is precisely the kind of fading away that I desire.

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

September 27, 2021

“Whoever is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:39) This is what Jesus said to his disciples when they came across someone who was casting out demons in Jesus’ name, but was not among His “followers.” Jesus doesn’t care about the shell games of power or prestige. 

Building bridges where you can is the way to go. God – not you - is in charge of sorting out the wheat from the chaff. We can root for good, even and especially when it doesn’t come from our particular corner.

“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)

September 24, 2021

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

The Collect for Fridays reveals the deeply ironic truth of life in Christ. The way of the cross (suffering that no one would choose) is none other than the way of life and peace. No one naturally thinks this way. And yet, you probably have experienced it to be true.

No one chooses to walk in the way of the cross, except the One who chose to lay His life down for your sake. Not much more needs to be said, so time to pray!

“Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” (A Collect for Fridays – BCP p. 56)