Andrewes was a bishop, and a scholar, but also a guide, a person interested in his fellow man, one who was also seemingly connected to the world around him that God had created, and the soul who express his intimacy with God through his prayers.
God’s grace is abundant and steadfast; it calls to us to sink our roots deep and flourish, to spread like a palm tree or a cedar and claim our piece of sky, but also to share in the work of God to provide shelter and shade throughout creation.
What relationships in my life help me to be a light bulb waiting to be illuminated by Christ and what relationships dominate me?
In the church I grew up in I was encouraged to not just learn rote scripture or memorize what a passage was ‘supposed to mean’ but to actively engage with the classic three-legged stool of episcopalian metaphor, and the teachers I had worked hard to engage us where we were. Ultimately, this reinforced my understanding that learning in general was a Good Thing.
The “Jesus franchise” belongs to Jesus alone… not to any person or institution, however exalted. In his infinite wisdom, God blesses us all in our diversity and in our unity. In this morning’s gospel, Christ has a final word for any of us who might find our brother or sister’s faith not exactly to our taste: Your life has been salted… flavored by the love of Christ.
When we live for Christ, we become the embodiment of those words. In short, we become red-letter people–quotes attributed to Jesus, in human skin.
I wonder, though, if our inability to care for the children in our society stems from an inability to welcome the children within ourselves and others?
The result of good stewardship on an individual, congregational, diocesan, or national level will be a testimony to the world as to how well each steward performs.
This is a gift that all too many of us feel eludes us. Most of us do not live our lives feeling happy all the time, or even most of the time. There are so many things that are beyond our control.
For many, many years a dear friend of mine has prayed to God before she goes to bed, “I hope that today I have done what you created me for.”