So, Here's What I Think...

Reading about the ongoing problems within the Episcopal Church and my conversation with Father Y made me think about this: What goes on in our personal lives is often reflective of what is going on in the world around us, and vice versa. Based on that thesis, I have these questions: Can people of goodwill disagree on important issues without straining the bonds of affection for one another? Should people who wish to live their faith in community set aside "rightness" in order to pursue a greater good? If we agree that in general, divorce is to be avoided, can there rightly be a time when a person must end a relationship with a community in order to thrive spiritually? There is also another aspect to this "micro" and "macro" idea. That is, an individual church can be seen as kind of a microcosm of the Church, and moving from one church to another is like simply moving from one "room" to another in the larger Christian Church. This is a comfortin...

I mentioned to my husband last night that, being at my present church, this will be the first time I have ever had a pastor younger than me (even though it's only by a few months). Hmmm...

Gentle Readers, This blog entry is an attempt at a sermon I wrote a few years ago. Yes, I do things like this "for fun". It seems to fit in with the rest of the blog, so I'm including it here. Feedback is always welcome. Blessings, E In the name of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Remember that story Jesus told about the “prodigal son,” the young man who gets his inheritance early and blows it on loose women and fast living? Remember how he decides to come crawling back to dear old dad when his funds run out and finds the pigs’ slop better than his own food? And what did dear old dad do? Say “I told you so”? Lay a guilt trip? No! The old man not only welcomes his son back, but also throws a big party in his honor. I have heard this parable discussed many times in the context of the father’s great forgiveness of his younger son. This understanding has been and continues to be a source of great comfort. After all, I have often strayed from the right road...

Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it And spills the upper boulder in the sun, And make gaps even two can pass abreast. The work of hunters is another thing: I have come after them and made repair Where they have left not one stone on a stone, But they would have the rabbit out of hiding, To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean, No one has seen them made or heard them made, But at spring mending-time we find them there, I let my neighbor know beyond the hill; And on a day we meet to walk the line And set the wall between us once again. We keep the wall between us as we go. To each the boulders that have fallen to each. And some are loaves and some so nearly balls We have to use a spell to make them balance: "Stay where you are until our backs are turned!" We wear our fingers rough with handling them. Oh, just another kind of outdoor game, One on a side. It comes to little more: There where it i...

I am sure someone with more theological knowledge will correct me if I am blatantly wrong. My commute to and from work is about a good 30 minutes one way. So the drive gives me a lot of time to think and pray. This morning an interesting thought came to mind: What if there is a such thing as a personal Satan? Mind you, this is NOT something I want. What I mean by "Personal Satan" is all those things that keep me away from God -- my areas of weakness, my Achilles's heel. I thought about it for a while and concluded that the thing that keeps me furthest from God is very close to the thing that brings me closest to God -- my relationships with other people. Sometimes it's a person that helps me see what God has in store for me, what His will for me is. Many times finding God's gifts and discerning God's will is achieved in community. But other times, it's worrying about what people think, what they will do (which is beyond my control), how do they feel ab...

The King James version of the Lord's Prayer goes like this: After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts , as we forgive our debtors . And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13) I found this meaningful quote on forgiveness in Blake Coffee's Blog "The Church Whisperer" http://churchwhisperer.com : Forgiveness is more about wiping away a debt. It is saying to a person, “You owe me nothing more…no money, no apology, no hugs, no sympathy cards, nothing…I really am no longer looking for any of that from you…you are released from any moral or ethical or legal obligations to me for this pain…as much as is possible, we are going to move forward now and I will not be holding this over you any longer, waiti...

"...Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." To paraphrase Father X, we are changing, every second, every fraction of a second. We can choose to let God be the change agent in us. I'm not who I was! Thanks be to God! Amen!

I'm going to attempt to describe several attributes of love in this post. First, let me list a few things that Love is Not: Unconditional Approval of what a person does or thinks Being inseparable from the other to the point of losing one's self Mushy, gushy sentiment (OK, mush is good sometimes, but not without substance along with it.) Appreciation of what another does for you (It's loving to do so, but it's not Love.) Trying to mold another, or the relationship with another, into something you want. I can probably go further, but I think you get the picture. So...what IS Love? Love IS... Unconditional Acceptance of a person as beloved of God. When we look at others as God's beloved children, we look beyond anything that they do or believe and love that which belongs to God. Do we approve, like or ignore that which is wrong or evil in some persons? No. It would not be loving to do so. I'll expand on that a little later. The lesson in this for me is to a...

I've seen her name come up in a friend's blog ( Fr. Mike Marsh's "Interrupting the Silence" ) and also a post in the email list for the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops and House of Deputies. (I'm a read-only member of that list.) I think Underhill will be on my reading list very soon. From Wikipedia, a brief biography of Evelyn Underhill: Evelyn Underhill ( December 6 , 1875 – June 15 , 1941 ) was an English Anglo-Catholic writer and pacifist known for her numerous works on religion and spiritual practice , in particular Christian mysticism . In the English-speaking world, she was one of the most widely read writers on such matters in the first half of the twentieth century. No other book of its type—until the appearance in 1946 of Aldous Huxley 's The Perennial Philosophy —met with success to match that of her best-known work, Mysticism , published in 1911. Here's a quote on love: This wide and generous spirit of love, not the religiou...

There are some religious folk who use the phrase "convicted by God." I don't hear it much -- if at all -- in Episcopal or Catholic circles, but it's a useful concept. Basically it's God making me aware of where I fall short and calling me to repentance. Some people hear God speaking in a human voice; however, I experience God's voice in a variety of ways, often in music. Making amends, allowing God to work in me, following His will, turning away from thoughts and behaviors that hurt myself and others -- this is repentance to me. Here's a song through which God spoke to me. It's "Whatever You're Doing" by Sanctus Real, a Contemporary Christian group. Here are the lyrics: It's time for healing time to move on It's time to fix what's been broken too long Time to make right what has been wrong It's time to find my way to where I belong There's a wave that's crashing over me And all I can do is surrender (Chorus) Wh...