Last week, just before flying to New Zealand for my vacation, I wrote a meditation for this week about labyrinths. At the time, I didn’t realize how rapidly our life in the time of COVID-19 would change (and I certainly didn’t realize that my NZ trip would be cut in half, forcing my return to New York early this week!). But the concept of the labyrinth seems even more apt today than it did a week or two ago.....
We’ve enjoyed a fairly long season of Epiphany this year, but now the season of Lent is upon us, beginning with Ash Wednesday on February 26. As you will hear if you join us for the 8 am or 7 pm service that day, Ash Wednesday invites us to the observance of a holy Lent, “by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 265) So now might be the perfect time to think about how you will observe a holy Lent!...
On Friday, January 24, we celebrate the ordination of Florence Li Tim-Oi, the first woman priest in the Anglican Communion who was ordained in 1944! Her name is a combination of the name she was given by her father when she was born in Hong Kong (Li Tim-Oi, meaning “much beloved daughter”) and the name she chose when she was baptized as a student (Florence, in honor of Florence Nightingale)....
Today, December 27, is the feast day of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. A couple of days ago, on Christmas Day, we read the gorgeous prologue to John’s gospel. It begins, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it… The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.”
Tomorrow, Saturday, November 30, is the Feast of St. Andrew. Andrew is traditionally the first saint remembered in the new church year, and the season of Advent always begins on the Sunday closest to his feast day. The stories about Andrew in the Gospel of John emphasize his gift for making connections between others and Jesus - he was a great networker! He was the first of the disciples to follow Jesus, having learned of him through John the Baptist. (As a result, the Orthodox Church have named Andrew Protokletos, or “First-called.”)...
Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints, and we will have a particularly festive marking of it at our Evensong commemorating the 175th anniversary of Church of the Holy Apostles tonight (Friday) at 7 pm. We will also remember All Saints’ Day, and its related day, All Souls’ (or the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed) this Sunday, November 3....
When she was eight years old, my niece Audrey asked me the very important theological question, “Does God have pets?” Now, she had an ulterior motive for this question, as she was angling to be allowed to get a dog (this was before Penny, and then Hugo, came into her life!) – but nevertheless, it is an intriguing question. I responded, “Yes, I think WE are all God’s pets.”....
Today I came across this “Thought for the Day” on a poetry website (https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com): Don’t resent the work. It gives you strength to stand whole and silent before the Mystery. - Ivan M. Granger Granger may be talking about a more significant kind of work, but I immediately thought of all the little things that I resent doing each day. This is the stuff I “have to” do, the “shoulds” -- much of it just the tedious things in work and life that we all have to attend to. Things like those emails I have to return, the doctor’s appointment I should make, and the research I need to do in order to fix my misbehaving computer....
The comedian John Oliver addressed the recent mass shootings before his regular show aired Sunday night. He began like this: “When it comes to gun control, I know it can feel like everything’s been said before. In fact, even pointing out “everything’s been said before” has been said before. In fact, even pointing out the fact that “ ‘everything’s been said before’ has been said before” has been said before. But while the depressingly familiar numbness that you may be currently feeling can help you handle the pain in the short term, in the long term it can actually be a real problem because unless something hurts as much as it’s supposed to, nothing gets done about it.”....
Happy Summer! I am actually on vacation -- I wrote this meditation last week before I left. I hope I'm having a fun and relaxing time! And I hope that you will get some time off as well this summer, even if it is just a long weekend or two....
