Reflections
We’ll gather (or will have gathered, depending on when you read this) at Pocket Park on Saturday for what we hope will become our annual Blessing of the Animals to celebrate the Feast of St. Francis. It is often a wonderfully chaotic time with dogs and cats and a wide assortment of God’s creatures, including humans, seeking God’s blessing for their lives and the lives of their furry companions.
This day is associated with St. Francis for it was Francis who could so clearly see the reflection of God in all creation. God’s presence in all things compelled Francis to preach to the animals so that they would know the source of their life and the joy of being loved.
And many of Francis’s contemporaries, including his family whose wealth he had renounced, thought he was stark raving mad!
More than a thousand years later, with an impending ecological crisis staring us in the face, we gather with symbols of that wider creation of which we are so intimately a part. We gather to remind ourselves of their place, and our place, in this love infused creation upon which God looked and said, “It is good.”
Maybe more than 12th century birds, we 21st human creatures need to hear Francis preaching about the source of our lives and the joy of being loved. That is what blessing is all about.
His sanity was questioned. So will ours when we live into the deepest joy of being created in love, nurtured in love and returned to God in love.
The prayer attributed to Francis may not have been written by him, but the prayerful desires it expresses have been associated with his life since the earliest days. For me, this prayer flows naturally from one in love with the divine presence in all things, and one who thought it important to preach to birds:
Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me so 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 we 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
Sunday’s Scriptures-a few brief thoughts
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
The prophet poses that eternal question of those struggling to be faithful: “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?”. It’s the cry in the midst of things we cannot understand. It’s the plea when tragedy overwhelms. How do we deal with what appears to be the divine silence of the universe. Even with these great questions the prophet refuses to abandon hope. Rather he commits to listening, even in the midst of silence. And ultimately, an answer comes.
Sometimes that answer takes a lifetime. But God will not abandon.
Psalm 37:1-10
Echoing Habakkuk, the Psalmist counsels, “be still…wait patiently”. Resist the temptation of frustration with things that make little sense that spills over into anger and rage-usually onto others close to us. It only makes matters worse.
2 Timothy 1:1-14
In the letters to Timothy, “my beloved child” we have a wonderfully intimate glimpse into the nature of faith. Paul speaks fondly of Lois, Timothy’s grandmother, and Eunice, his mother, and how they nurtured the faith in their lives and passed it on to Timothy. Many of us still gather on Sunday because our faith was first “caught” from our family before it was later taught by the church.
Luke 17:5-10
“…we have only done what we ought to have done.” The four letter word most commonly used in my family was “Duty”. There was no discussion. There was no debate. My faith was often nurtured by the questions in the old Catechism: “What is your duty toward God? What is your duty toward your neighbor?”
I remember like it was yesterday a sermon my father once preached on duty. The punch line was something like, “Medals are given for efforts
‘above and beyond the call of duty’. Duty is simply expected as normal behavior.
I’m glad my faith deepened from duty. But it was a great place to start.
Additional Matters of Interest
Blessing of Animals-Follow the wonderful new sign to Pocket Park this Saturday, October 1. Bring animals(live and stuffed) and friends We’ll begin at 9:00 and finish around 9:30. Stay as long as you’d like.
Adult Sunday Class: October 16-November 13. Entitled “Episcopal Church 101-a guide to our peculiar way of life”, this is not a bunch of facts about the Episcopal Church, though there will be some. Rather, we will use our tradition to dig deep into the great questions of faith and look at ways- ancient and contemporary-people of faith have tried to find meaning and purpose. Hopefully, lots of questions and discussion.
We’ll begin at 9:15 at the This is Noteworthy building (16s Main Street).
Nativity’s 2022 Stewardship Campaign: October 23- November 6. Relax! You may even come to find God’s presence in your lives in new ways.
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