According to legend, Anne yearned in vain for a child until she was well advanced in years. Then, miraculously, she became the mother of Mary. . . . Anne’s legend fits comfortably into scriptural tradition; it is a repetition of the familiar story of the matriarchs, our foremothers. It is a variation on the theme of barrenness over against the divine promise of fruitfulness.
We have three compost heaps, and even they are not capacious enough to contain all the castoffs of our garden and our kitchen. When the leaves begin to fall, we will have to begin a new pile near the border of our small woods.
Desmond Tutu of Capetown observed recently that “God is continually breathing into our nostrils.” It is a vivid way of expressing the fact that not only is our life the creation of God, but that every moment of our life is also sustained by God. We are not only made.
When these unbelieving Emperors were issuing savage edicts against all Christians, Alban, as yet a pagan, gave shelter to a Christian priest fleeing from his pursuers. And when he observed this man’s unbroken activity of prayer and vigil, he was suddenly touched by the grace of God and began to follow the priest’s example of faith and devotion.
God, fill my heart with gratitude.
Like a child, I cry for my wants, rather than my needs.
My sense of entitlement is immense.
Recognizing our origins in earth and in God prepares the ground for our understanding of our place on this planet. It saves us from the terrible hubris, or pride, which is the source of so much of our destructiveness. When we feel disconnected from our bodies, from our earthiness, we are also disconnected from the rest of creation.
The word “friend” recurs frequently in the story of Bernard Mizeki’s life, ministry, and martyrdom. Fleeing oppression in Portuguese East Africa, Mizeki was befriended by Anglican missionaries and became a Christian. He, in turn, befriended the people of Central Africa, and they likewise came to Christianity.
We can understand the Bible best if we read it as a five-act play, the five acts being Creation, Fall, Israel, Jesus, and Church. We are not living in an unfallen creation; or in a fallen world without promise; or in the time of Israel BC;
That which we more strictly call piety, or the love of God, and which is an essential part of a right temper, some may perhaps imagine no way connected with benevolence: yet surely they must be connected, if there be indeed in being an object infinitely good.
One of the first things that Jesus did in his ministry was to reach out to twelve individuals and draw them into a circle of close companionship with him. . . . Jesus began his ministry alone, but it soon became a communal movement as he called followers to his side, not only because he sensed their potential in helping to build the kingdom of God but also because they were so curious about what he was doing.