AUTUMN A.D.

2017

VOL. 59 NO. 3

Church of the Redeemer

Sarasota, Florida
www.redeemersarasota.org
Member of the Parish Partner Plan
 AUTUMN 2017

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 AUTUMN A.D. 2017

VOL. 59 NO. 3

Church of the Redeemer

Sarasota, Florida
www.redeemersarasota.org
Member of the Parish Partner Plan
 Published quarterly by the Society for Promoting and Encouraging
Arts and Knowledge of the Church (SPEAK, Inc.).

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The theme of this issue is
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autumn 2017 3
connecting

PROFLIGATE, INDISCRIMINATE LOVE

The Rev. Anne Kelsey

The seed is in the ground.

Now may we rest in hope
While darkness does its work.
Those three lines are a by Wendell Berry from a collection
called Sabbath Poems. These arose from the Sunday morn-
ings he spent walking the woods and fields of his farm in Ken-
tucky, meditating on nature and God, holiness, scripture, and
the ways of humanity. He stands in a long line of poets who en-
counter God in what we now call the natural world that is,
the world outside of constructed homes, the God of mountain
top and whirlwind, the God of all creatures great and small.
Some of the greatest poetry in that vein comes from the poets
and prophets of Hebrew scripture, including the prophet Isa-
iah, whose words from Canticle Eleven in Morning Prayer are
quite familiar:
For as rain and snow fall from the heavens,
and return not again, but water the earth,
Bringing forth life and giving growth,
seed for sowing and bread for eating,
So is my word that goes forth from my mouth;
it will not return to me empty;
But it will accomplish that which I have purposed,
and prosper that for which I sent it.
Seed that must die in order to give life, seed that must break
apart so it can sprout. Jesus also stands within that tradition

4 anglicandigest.org
gathering telling

every time he uses something from nature to explain the ways

of God, every time he says things like:
Consider the lilies of the field
The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Most of us get our lilies from a garden or at a flower shop, find
mustard seed in the spice rack, and buy wine long after the
grapes have been removed from the vines, so the imagery for us
is somewhat less potent than it would have been for those who
listened to Jesus preach from his pulpit in a boat. Sometimes
he offers an explanation, as he does in the Gospel of Matthew
when he describes how the hearers of Gods word respond to
it, and we easily understand. Jesus tells us that we hear Gods
word, but many things can kill it before it can sprout. (Matthew
13:1-9,18-23)

So this makes sense in one way, but it skips something import-

ant that must have occurred to at least some of his listeners
at the time because if we take the sower to be God, then
God would never make it as a farmer. God would be in bank-
ruptcy. God would be looking in town for another job be-
cause those who till the land pay a lot of money for good seed
and they prepare their fields carefully. The furrows are plowed
straight, and the seeds are planted at just the right time and in
the right places in order to produce an abundant crop.

But God the farmer of Jesus parable doesnt do that. Its not ra-
tional. Apparently, God doesnt look at the bottom line or proj-
ect yields per acre, because in Jesus parable, seed gets tossed

autumn 2017 5
connecting

willy-nilly, all over the place, as if throwing it out there was

more important than where it fell. No one who really wants a
harvest would behave like that. No decent farmer throws seed
into brier patches or over rocks or on pathways where peo-
ple and animals will ruin it. But according to the parable, God
is indiscriminate, profligate, and downright wasteful with the
Word, the seed of the kingdom of heaven, planting where no-
body expects anything to grow and where the almost certain
outcome is failure.

We have a tendency to hear parables and slip into thinking

were the good guys that were not scribes and Pharisees,
that were fertile ground, not stones and rocks, that of course
we receive the Word of God and spread the kingdom of Jesus.
We go to church and Bible study, tithe, travel far away on mis-
sion trips, and spend time praying and meditating on retreats.
We hear the Gospel proclaimed each week and try to live it
out as best we can. Good for us. Meanwhile, God is scattering
seeds of the kingdom not just within faith communities, but
anywhere and everywhere else. But we have a hard time believ-
ing this because its so very easy not to.

Once on a flight from St. Louis, I struck up a conversation with

a man sitting next to me. He said that he was an attorney, and
when I asked who he worked for, he said he was doing some
consulting work for Monsanto. That sounded interesting, so I
asked him about it and he replied something on the order of
If I told you Id have to kill you. And then he said, I suppose
youre a bleeding-heart liberal. It took about seven hours for
my creative genius to kick in with the perfect witty (and admit-
tedly sarcastic) response, so in the moment all I said was yes.

6 anglicandigest.org
gathering telling

Yes, Im a bleeding-heart liberal. And I didnt say and Im

glad I didnt Well if Im the bleeding heart liberal, what are
you? The guy with a heart of stone? Its so, so easy to fall into
the us/them trap, and to think that God really, in Gods heart of
hearts, favors us and every opinion and position we take.
And we know thats just not true. If God is flinging compassion
and mercy and healing and love indiscriminately all over the
place, then its getting showered on people whose lawn signs
read Lock her up and people whose lawn signs read Black
lives matter. Steak eaters and vegetarians, feminists and die-
hard patriarchs, east coast, west coast, and God bless us
the great middle in between. God is annoyingly indifferent
to gender, race, age, health, money, status, achievement, and
anything and everything that distinguishes us from everybody
else. So deep down, were just as conflicted about what God is
requiring of us as anyone was who sat around listening to Jesus
in the first century. Unconsciously, wed like to change the Gos-
pel just a bit, interpret it and modify whats so hard about Jesus
message to justify our own anxiety, selfishness, and greed.
Wed imagine that were innocent when we know that, really,
were not. We like to think that were unblemished, whole, and
complete thats the face we present to the world. But un-
derneath the make-up and the power suits, were incomplete,
powerless, and often hurting. Failures and wounds are hidden
in the deepest recesses of our hearts things we try to hide
not only from others but also from ourselves and from God.
It takes us by surprise when hope for new life, or the begin-
nings of faith, spring up in the unlikely places and when its
least expected not always, but enough to know its true.

autumn 2017 7
connecting

When were broken, angry, suffering, lost, and amazingly stu-

pid, when were absolutely not perfect. One way or another,
every single one of us is broken and if were not broken now,
then we have been in the past and almost certainly will be in
the future. We mess up our lives in mundane and spectacular
ways; then God takes a chance on us. And, in the most unlikely
and difficult circumstances, something mysterious and won-
derful can happen precisely because God takes risks that we
wouldnt, sows salvation and redemption not where its easily
predictable, but where its hard. Where were broken. Where
were stuck in the thorns, when our hearts have turned hard,
when we feel trampled. Thats where theres opportunity. In
that brokenness, God loves us, and sees in us the deepest ca-
pacity to bloom. As Leonard Cohen wrote, There is a crack in
everything / Thats how the light gets in.

I know a young woman who suffered whats called a mild trau-

matic brain injury, though there was nothing mild about it.
A year later, only part way through her recovery, she wrote a
letter to everyone whod been supporting her throughout that
year, and she said, Dont get me wrong. I wouldnt wish a brain
injury on anyone. But I have found grace.

Love and forgiveness, mercy and grace, become the most

powerful, most liberating, and most transformative when we
dont deserve them, when we havent looked for them, when all
around is darkness and despair, when theres no way out. For
us faithful Christians preaching the Gospel and really work-
ing to spread the kingdom ourselves, it doesnt mean beaning
someone over the head with Jesus, but extending compas-
sion, forgiveness, mercy, and loving kindness to those who are

8 anglicandigest.org
gathering telling

the least deserving, the most unattractive, and the hardest to

love. It requires us to sow Gods word, which is love in action,
among those who are powerless, marginalized, different, and
scandalous. It requires us to take a deep breath and plunge in
not where its safe and success is assured, but where its fright-
ening and the outcome is dubious.
God is the sower, the seed is Jesus Gospel, and the ground is
the human soul; we also are sowers of Christ and his salvation
when we plant the seeds of Gods love within the human soul,
in all the many ways open to us.
In The Mad Farmer Liberation Front, Wendell Berry speaks
about what this might look like:
So, friends, every day do something that wont compute.
Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it
Practice resurrection.
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contact:
Br. Glen Weeks, OSF,
228 Old Glenwood Rd., West Falls, NY 14170.
e-mail minister-general@fodc.net
or call 716-652-6616
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autumn 2017 9
connecting

SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS not the hours of Disney Jr., its

AT HOME IN THE the backyard swing set that no
TWENTY-FIRST one is using.
CENTURY The thing I find most jarring
The Rev. Sarah Condon about these scary assessments
is not the information they
Yet another harrowing in- hold but the clarion call for
dictment of modern fami- self-righteousness that they
ly life recently came across herald. Some people read this
my newsfeed. Life at Home stuff and feel the weight of
in the Twenty-First Century their sin, while some people
chronicles the ways in which read this stuff and feel very
American family life is falling shiny in their righteousness. I
in on itself. Apparently things worry about the latter group,
are worse than we thought. but I wasnt always this way.
We are surrounded by our I used to see self-righteous-
belongings, our children are ness as a kind of earned right.
staring at screens, and no one Maybe some people really are
is going outside. Also, it turns firing on all cylinders?
out everyone is eating chicken
nuggets. Come on, America, A decade in ministry along-
havent we talked about this side my husband has ruined
already? that fantasy. The more to-
gether people want to tell
Mostly, all of the neurotic- me they are, the more I just
as-I-am mothers are posting assume (actually, know) that
articles about this book and their lives are completely fall-
wondering what we are do- ing apart.
ing to mess up our kids. We
see ourselves somewhere in I forever want to be clear
the books sad evidence: if its that its not just the world out

10 anglicandigest.org
gathering
there that talks this way. The
church, too, is a foolhardy en-
terprise of self-righteousness,
much to her own detriment.
If I have to hear another ser-
mon about running a 5K (Hey
girl! 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) or
another mention made of the
domestic prowess of the Prov-
erbs 31 lady (everyone forgets
she had servants), then I am
going to lose my religion.
Just kidding. Im going to
cling to it. Because I am a
needy sinner. Who does not
run 5Ks, hates doing laundry,
and needs a word of grace.
I dont know what this says
about me, but when people go
into full blown self-righteous-
ness mode I worry that the
world has not broken them
enough. And I dont mean
major life trauma. I mean,
like, colicky babies and fender
benders. Because if they have
been through these things
and still not seen the fallen-
ness in themselves and their
telling
fellow human beings, I get re-
ally worried about them. Like,
eternally speaking.
I know, we dont usually write
about hell, and we certainly
dont suggest who goes there
(we did take an inner-office
poll and decided that I was
Most Likely), but its worth
remembering that some peo-
ple are already in hell, and
they dont even know it. Be-
cause self-righteousness cuts
a clear path to dinner with
Satan, party of two. When
people are unwilling to show
mercy to others, or to see
their own sin when they
see other peoples struggles,
you know theyve got some
dark tracks running in their
brains.
Im convinced that there is
nothing worse than waking
up in the morning with the
self-satisfaction of being bet-
ter than. It is burdensome and
lonely. You cannot satiate that
beast, because it lives in an
autumn 2017 11
connecting
eternity of self-justification.
You are a slave to your choices
and will never meet your own
standards. And even when
you get to check off better
than those people on your
mental list, theres always a
lack of satisfaction in being
that kind of right because, it
turns out, that kind of right is
very, very wrong.
Of course, theres a precedent on how to be Jesus #2. I know
for this in the 18th chapter of it may sound that way in some
Luke:
Two men went up to the
temple to pray, one a
Pharisee and the other a
tax collector. The Phari-
see, standing by himself,
was praying thus, God,
I thank you that I am not
like other people: thieves,
rogues, adulterers, or even
like this tax collector. I fast of scriptures with nothing
twice a week; I give a tenth
of all my income. But the
tax collector, standing far
off, would not even look
up to heaven, but was
12 anglicandigest.org
beating his breast and
saying, God, be merciful
to me, a sinner! I tell you,
this man went down to his
home justified rather than
the other; for all who exalt
themselves will be hum-
bled, but all who humble
themselves will be exalted.
We dont read the Gospels ev-
ery Sunday morning for tips
circles, but that aint the gig.
That was never the plan. We
made that part up.
Whenever you want to know
what you would do in any giv-
en Gospel passage, just look
at the people who are getting
it wrong, because they are
there for a reason. God could
have given us a whole body
but miracle stories and some
solid life advice. Instead, the
Gospels tell the story of Je-
sus and his group of bum-
bling jackwagons who ask too
gathering
many questions, fall asleep
like cranky toddlers, and be-
tray the savior of the world for
a bag of coins. Take it or leave
it, but thats us. It aint cute,
but its true.
You know the mothers who
make frozen meals every
night because they work all
day? Classic disciple move.
Or the ones who are home
with their children full-time
and turn on Dora the Explor-
er so they can just breathe in
silence for twenty minutes
(okay, an hour)? Total tax col-
lectors. Or maybe you know
those fathers who are working
so late that they never make
it home for dinner? Hey, St.
Martha.
The plan was once, always,
and forever for our salvation
through the righteousness of
Christ. Not through our judg-
ment, our better thans, or our
ability to keep it together.
Our together was never to-
gether to begin with.
telling
As a Christian, I know it
sounds strange to read a bleak
article about marriage or par-
enting or dieting and not find
all of the ways that you are
so different. For the record,
you are so different but
not because you are eating
dinner with your family and
making chicken nuggets with
an actual recipe. You are dif-
ferent because you belong to
Jesus, and the chasing-your-
own-tail game is over. So find
something else to talk about.
At best, our judgment and
self-righteousness keeps us
away from those who need us.
At worse, it prevents us from
knowing how much we need
Jesus.
A version of this piece first
appeared in Mockingbird
(www.mbird.com).
QQQ
If youre going to care about
the fall of the sparrow, you
cant pick and choose whos
going to be the sparrow.
Madeleine LEngle
autumn 2017 13
connecting

ARE WE PRAYING But thats not how Jesus says

WRONG to pray. When he gave us what
we call the Lords Prayer as an
The Rev. Scott Gunn example of prayer, Jesus urged
Some time ago, my attention that prayer include several
was drawn to a 2014 Lifeway things:
study on Americans prayer
habits. Not surprisingly, I Praise of God and Gods
suppose, the survey shows holiness;
that we Americans are not Prayer for the coming of
praying the way Jesus taught Gods kingdom;
us to pray; instead, we most- Prayer for Gods will to be
ly pray for ourselves and our done;
own personal needs. Prayer for sufficiency, for
As Melody Shobe and I wrote enough to make it through
in Faithful Questions: Explor- this day (and no more, if
ing the Way with Jesus, too you get the biblical
often people think of prayer reference here); and
as a kind of cosmic vending Prayer for forgiveness of
machine: We put our prayers our sins, but also contrite
through the slot, and we ex- hope that we might forgive
pect results to pop out. Its a the sins of others.
very transactional, me-fo-
cused model. And so it is that Beyond that template, Jesus
quite often when Christians had other things to say about
are given an open invitation prayer. He told us to pray for
to pray, the requests are for our enemies. He told us to
ones own job, health, happi- bless those who revile us. He
ness, or perhaps the same for told us to pray with pure mo-
a friend or loved one. tive, not for show.

14 anglicandigest.org
gathering telling

At least among Episcopa- they had prayed for people

lians (and, I suspect other who had mistreated them, but
mainline Protestants), I rare- those are pretty small num-
ly hear prayers for our ene- bers for such a basic practice,
mies, prayers for the coming so clearly taught.
of Gods kingdom, prayers for
sufficiency, or prayers about And, from my perspective, it
forgiveness. Even praise of gets worse. It seems that these
Gods holiness is pretty rare in days nearly everyone agrees
extemporaneous prayer. on one thing in American
politics: Our situation is dire.
The Lifeway study confirms Whether you are conserva-
our off-the-biblical-script tive or liberal, it seems likely
prayer habit. Among the find- you despaired over the recent
ings: presidential election and the
conduct of candidates. There
Most Americans (82%) is, I think, broad bipartisan
typically focus on their support for the idea that our
friends and family or their elected leaders could be doing
own problems (74%); a much better job. Heres the
Just over half (54%) pray kicker: Only 12% of Ameri-
about good things hap- cans say they have prayed for
pening in their life; and our political leaders. One in
Over one third pray for eight.
their future prosperity
(36%). Shouldnt we all be praying
for those who lead us? Espe-
Nothing here represents cially since Americans seem
prayer as Jesus taught. Now, to think prayer works:
to be fair, some 37% of peo-
ple said they had prayed for Most Americans who
their enemies, and 41% said pray (83%) think at least

autumn 2017 15
connecting

some of their prayers our intention is to talk to God

are answered. That and to listen for Gods still,
includes one in four small voice, we havent gone
(25%) who say all their wrong. But I think we could
prayers are answered, do better.
one in five (21%) who
say most of their prayers
RenewalWorks, a ministry of
are answered, and more Forward Movement where
than one in three (37%) I serve, had been collect-
who say some of their ing data on spiritual growth
prayers are answered. and vitality. We now know a
lot about the spiritual health
If we think our prayers work, and vitality of our church.
and if we are concerned about And we know a lot about
our nation, why arent more of the catalysts for spiritual
us praying for our leaders? growth. What pushes us to
You can quibble with the grow?
survey data. People probably
said what they thought they It turns out that prayer looks
should say. Maybe if the sam- different depending on ones
ple wasnt skewed in some spiritual maturity. People
way, things would look dif- who are spiritually less ma-
ferent. But be honest: Think ture tend to pray for their own
about the last time you were immediate needs. People who
at a church meeting or a wor- are moving along pray for the
ship service and people were good of the world, for Gods
invited to pray. What were will to be done. People who
those prayers like? are Christ-centered listen for
God, spending less time tell-
Now, in one sense, there is no ing God what to do. It makes
wrong way to pray. That is, if sense, right?

16 anglicandigest.org
gathering
St. Paul used the example of
giving spiritual milk to new-
borns in the faith, and solid
food to more mature follow-
ers of Jesus. Think of infants
who must have certain foods
for their bodies to grow.
Think of young children who
are choosy about what they
eat. And then think of a per-
son who eats what is set be-
fore them, savoring it all
and not harming their bodies
with much lousy food. (I have
no moral high ground here; I
eat way more junk food than
I should!)
Might we try to develop our
prayer life? Might we encour-
age others to do the same? In
this contentious time, surely
all of us could agree to pray
for our political leaders and
all those who seek political
office. It would not be at all
partisan to pray that Gods
will be done. Perhaps those
of us who are church leaders
should be encouraging this
kind of prayer.
telling
And maybe we should imag-
ine what it would be like to
pray for our enemies. I know
one thing for certain: When I
pray for my enemies, it chang-
es my heart.
I once heard a wise man
speak about his life of prayer.
Hes been a priest for decades.
He told of going to Egypt to
spend a month in the cell
at a Coptic monastery. For
a month, he ate every meal
in his cell, leaving it only for
daily worship. For a month,
it was just this man, a few
books, and his prayers. There,
he says, he learned to pray
for the well-being of others
for the first time in his life.
Before that, he says, when
he prayed for a friend to get
well, it was because he didnt
want the sorrow if his friend
didnt get well. It was about
him, not his loved one. In
that cell, he learned to pray
for the well-being of others,
to pray for Gods will to
be done.
autumn 2017 17
connecting
Most of us wont be able to
go to the cell of a monastery
to re-learn lifelong habits of
prayer. But we can push our-
selves a little. We can move
from comfort and familiarity
to a place of discomfort and
challenge. For myself, Ive de-
cided to start praying for po-
litical candidates I dont much
like. Im praying for their
well-being and for Gods will
to be done.
What about you? What about
your life of prayer? If you are a
lay or clergy leader in church,
what can you do to help those
around you deepen and en-
rich lives of prayer?
You might think that I, work-
ing in a ministry focused
on daily spiritual practices,
would be decent at prayer. But
reflecting on all these things, I
think Im just getting started
along the path that Jesus has
laid out for me.
Pray for me, OK?
18 anglicandigest.org
A version of this essay first ap-
peared on the authors blog,
www.sevenwholedays.org.
QQQ
THERES ALWAYS
ROOM FOR ONE
MORE
The Rt. Rev. Jake Owensby
They said it was going to be
a retreat. I was skeptical. Re-
treats offer spiritual exercis-
es and spans of quiet time
designed to nurture insight
and to encourage renewal.
By contrast, our weekend to-
gether was shaping up to be a
blood-letting.
The vestry and clergy of our
large suburban parish gath-
ered at a Methodist Confer-
ence Center for what was
billed as a time of visioning
led by a highly-paid consul-
tant. Along with our polo
shirts and Bermuda shorts,
some participants dragged
gathering telling

along seething resentments incompetent and the consul-

and others smuggled in poor- tants fee was an exorbitant
ly concealed anxieties. waste of money.

Tensions between the rector At the lunch break, members

and the lay leadership had of the vestry stalked directly
been mounting since before I to the dining hall. Along with
had arrived as a newly minted the other assisting clergy, I
priest the previous summer. A loitered with the rector. He
couple of assisting priests andhad taken a beating. We want-
I were loyal to our rector. ed to make sure he still had a
pulse and to reassure him that
We recognized that he strug- we still loved him.
gled with administrative tasks
and delivered sloppy sermons. As I emerged from the cafete-
His vision for the parish was ria line and looked for a place
vague and uninspiring. And to sit, I noticed the vestry sit-
yet, we loved him. He was ting at a large round table. I
deeply kind and nurturing, made my way there only to
generous and good-humored. see that all the seats had al-
ready been taken. Every head
The morning unfolded with turned my way. Some faces
two increasingly rocky ses- bore an embarrassed expres-
sions. The unstated agenda sion. Others uncertainty and
among a strong core of the mistrust. A couple of people
vestry was to announce their gave me the stink eye.
disappointment with the rec-
tors performance. There was No one offered to make space
bitter acrimony in the air for me at the table. Somebody
from the beginning. The mes- muttered that they were all
sage was clear. The rector was about to leave anyway. There

autumn 2017 19
connecting

was some awkward shuffling, Theres always room for one

but nobody moved. more, she said. (Grounded,
p. 240)
Finally I said, Dont worry
about it. I can just sit right There is always room for one
over here. I sat alone at an more. But we do have to make
adjacent table. space for her. For them.
This memory came back to I had known each of these
me when I read a very differ- vestry members before that
ent dining hall story by my wretched retreat and awk-
friend Diana Butler Bass. ward lunch experience. We
liked each other well enough.
Early in her freshman year at
In fact, I had grown close to
college, Diana carried her tray
some of them. All of them
into the schools vast dining
were good, kind, generous
hall searching for a place to
people. And yet, they couldnt
sit. The room was filled with
make room that day.
unfamiliar faces and the chat-
ter of people already in com-
As I look back on it, I realize
fortably established groups.
that all of us come to a place
Then someone she had met at where making room for one
orientation called out for her more seems not only unat-
to join her. When Diana got tractive but downright haz-
to the table, she saw that all ardous. So, we build walls.
the seats were taken. Walls to protect us from them.
And we shrink and wither,
As Diana began to turn away neglect others and diminish
to another table, her new ourselves with the very bar-
friend started pushing plates riers that we thought would
aside to make a space for her. make us safe and strong.

20 anglicandigest.org
gathering telling

So I guess it should come as Many of us remember the ad-

no real surprise that Jesus age, Good fences make good
identifies himself as a gate. neighbors. And maybe youre
The Church calls the fourth thinking something like that
Sunday of Easter Good Shep- right now.
herd Sunday. We read differ-
ent portions of Johns tenth That phrase came to many of
chapter every year. us from Robert Frosts famil-
iar poem The Mending Wall.
Preachers and teachers invite And theres an irony and
us to imagine Jesus as a gentle perhaps a fearful resistance
shepherd carrying a lamb on at work when we recall it. You
his shoulders. Kitschy artists see, were either unwittingly
and artisans could not have or deliberately recalling it out
asked for a better subject. of context.
Sweet Jesus carries each of us
as his precious lambs. As my friend Diana reminds
us, that poem deliberately
Well, I hate to break it to you, and artfully calls the virtue
but the Good Shepherd nar- of building walls into ques-
rative includes the odd, unro- tion. Remember, the first line
mantic image of Jesus as the is, Something there is that
gate in the sheep pen. He says, doesnt love a wall. As the
I am the gate for the sheep. two men collect and stack
(John 10:9) Jesus is more in- the tumbled rocks, one man
terested in gates than he is in begins to wonder about the
walls. wisdom of such a wall in the
first place. After all, a pine
We build plenty of walls. forest grows on his neighbors
Thats our problem. What we land; an apple orchard grows
need is a gate. on his. They are building the
autumn 2017 21
connecting

wall just for the sake of sep- Jesus doesnt say that he is the
aration. Pines and apple trees sheep pen. He is the gate. The
dont pose a threat to one an- gate through which the sheep
other. can come and go.

The second man utters the Later in the chapter, he adds,

phrase about fences and I have other sheep that do
neighbors unreflectively. Its not belong to this fold. And
what he learned as a child, I yet he wants one flock. Not a
suppose. He remains untrou- confederacy of separate sheep
bled by his neighbors mus- pens. Those many folds all
ings. His words fall upon deaf of those us-and-them divi-
ears. sions maintained by the walls
we build will become one
And yet. There remains some- flock only if the sheep pass
thing that doesnt love a wall. freely through the gate.
The frozen rain and the shift-
ing earth, the burrowing rab- So, as you sit at your com-
bits and the frantic beagles fortable place at the table, re-
never stop their work. Ragged member that its actually not
gates keep tumbling open by your table. It is Christs Holy
a force that neither neighbor Table. It might seem full to
can resist or eradicate. you, but Jesus sees things dif-
ferently. Theres always room
The question is only this: for one more. You might just
Will they have the courage need to shove some of your
to pass through that gate? To plates aside to make space.
welcome others as they pass
through? Or will they scram- A version of this essay first ap-
ble again and again to shore peared on the authors blog,
up their walls? https://jakeowensby.com.

22 anglicandigest.org
gathering
TRINITY SUNDAY
The Rev. Ezgi Saribay
Trinity Sunday is a bit of
an anomaly. Its a day when
we celebrate a foundational
doctrine of our faith with-
in the context of our weekly
celebration of Christs resur-
rection. It is also a day that
causes most clergy anxiety or
anguish or consternation as
we try to prepare a sermon
on the Trinity that is neither
interminably boring nor so
full of theological jargon that
parishioners will tune out and
fall asleep. There is certainly
no exception for me. Howev-
er, I would like to share with
you some reflections on how
it shapes and forms who we
are as a people of faith.
From Advent until Pentecost,
we focus all of our attention
on the life, death, resurrec-
tion, and ascension of Jesus.
Advent focuses our attention
on the coming Savior, the
telling
one who came and will come
again. We have lived the litur-
gical drama of Christ week by
week, Sunday by Sunday, un-
til we reach the pinnacle with
Maundy Thursday, Good Fri-
day, the Easter Vigil and Eas-
ter Day. Then comes the hard
part living the faithful life,
with the Spirits gifts to em-
power us for the work of min-
istry. (Hymn #528).
In order to understand the
Trinity, and how the early
Christians came to adopt the
concept of the Trinity, we
must go back to the basics.
They knew their story, as we
now read it in the Hebrew
Bible and in the Gospel sto-
ries. They knew God as their
creator, in whose image they
were created. They also knew
that God created all that was
and is, as reflected in the Gen-
esis creation stories. But God
was more than just their cre-
ator; he was in an intimate
relationship with them as a
parent, as a father, a mother.
autumn 2017 23
connecting
We glean that from the sto-
ries where their God hears
the cries of his people, brings
them out of bondage, cares
for his children as a hen cares
for her chicks, where God
calls Israel my children, and
weeps over their destruction
as parents weep over the ac-
tions of their brood. This God
is not a God from afar, or just
a watching and judging God,
but a loving and gracious God
who created them and even
when Adam and Eve sinned,
stayed with them and clothed
them. The stories of God as
creator and intimate parent,
father, and mother abounded
in their salvation story, and
continues in ours.
For the early Christians, an-
other understanding of God
came through the life, death,
and resurrection of Jesus.
God became flesh and dwelt
among us. The incarnate
Word. Through the early apos-
tles and disciples, they heard
the story of Jesus, and how
24 anglicandigest.org
God lived and acted in new
and profound ways among his
people, but it wasnt until af-
ter Jesus resurrection that his
life really made sense to the
disciples; during his lifetime,
they were still trying to un-
derstand. We know from the
Gospel of John how difficult
that last night was, as Jesus
was explaining what had to
happen and what it all meant.
They didnt fully understand
it until after the centurion
said, truly, this was the Son
of God. Then, the disciples
finally got the full meaning
at the Ascension when they
returned to the temple rejoic-
ing and praising God. God
was made manifest in Jesus to
ensure that the faith commu-
nity understood that God was
not just out there somewhere,
but lived as one of us, as our
brother, through Gods son Je-
sus. The new community had
also experienced the resur-
rected Christ and knew, like
Mary, that with God nothing
was impossible, because the
gathering
Easter story showed them
that the impossible was possi-
ble. Now, the new community
had all those stories to know
God as not only their creator,
but as their savior and re-
deemer.
Finally, they understood God
as the Holy Spirit. As prom-
ised by Jesus, the gift of the
Spirit came on Pentecost. It
came to the whole commu-
nity, not just a select few. One
might have thought that the
spirit would come to the dis-
ciples and their friends only,
but instead the spirit came
to the whole gathering, with
people from all over the re-
gion. They spoke different
languages and were from dif-
ferent cultures, yet they heard
the word of God in their own
languages. To them, that must
have been a mind-blowing
experience. The Bible says
they were bewildered, for
only the disciples knew about
this gift Jesus had promised,
and they didnt know in what
telling
form the Spirit would come.
But Jesus lived and preached
a life of welcome and inclu-
sion even when his followers
didnt, and the whole commu-
nity experienced God as the
Holy Spirit.
The doctrine of the Trinity
is not a top down theology
that began with Augustine or
Thomas Aquinas, but a way
for the faith community to
understand the God of our
salvation history. Through
our tradition, and the stories
handed down, this is still the
best way to understand God.
Why celebrate Trinity Sun-
day? For us, it is the time
when we begin the struggle to
understand how it is we live
in this community of faith.
The liturgical dramas of Je-
sus life are over, and we the
ones left to tell the story. We
are the ones to go out into the
world to proclaim the good
news, to baptize in the name
of God, Father, Son, and Holy
autumn 2017 25
connecting
Spirit. Therefore, we need to
understand how God acts
in our lives in order to share
that good news in the world.
People are not converted to
Jesus because we can artic-
ulate a theological doctrine,
but because we can share our
faith in very human terms.
Sharing how God has acted
in our lives as creator, parent,
redeemer, brother, and spirit.
I have a friend who said he
could not believe in God sole-
ly as Father because his father
was absent and, when present,
abusive. We all know people
whose fathers were the dis-
ciplinarians. Remember our
mothers saying just wait un-
til your father comes home,
and when he did you were
afraid you would be pun-
ished? Or you were told to be
quiet because your father has
had a hard day at work? And
we know people whose moth-
ers have also abandoned and
abused them. Limiting God
to either father or mother blood week after week and
26 anglicandigest.org
limits the God we love and
worship.
While our God will judge us
at the last day, our God is also
a loving and generous God
who gives to us uncondition-
ally. The God we worship is
the God who created all of us
and accepts all of us as we are.
God does not make mistakes.
Understanding God in this
way gives us new insight into
loving and accepting others
who are different from us, be-
cause we are all made in Gods
image. It is us, not God, who
has put limits and parameters
on who is acceptable to God.
Understanding God in this
way also calls us to reach out
and care for all of his children,
especially those who cannot
care for themselves.
How do we understand God
the Son, the Redeemer? We
are Jesus hands, feet, and
heart in the world. As we eat
Christs body and drink his
gathering
year after year, we become
what we eat and drink, and
become Christ in the world.
In our baptism, we are bap-
tized into Christs life, death,
and resurrection. As someone
once said, we may be the only
person someone who does
not know Christ may en-
counter. What will they see?
We sing the hymn they will
know we are Christians by
our love, but when they see
us, will they see us destroying
one another instead?
By the virtue of our baptism,
we have been empowered by
the spirit of God to go into the
world to proclaim the good
news. Too often the phrase
Spirit-filled has been nar-
rowly defined mean charis-
matic, as if one has to have a
certain type of religious expe-
rience to be spirit-filled. We
are all spirit-filled. How we
live out our lives in the spirit
is up to us. Paul reminds us
there is a variety of gifts, but
one spirit. We are a variety of
telling
people in one Spirit. We are
called to live out and develop
our gifts to the fullest. Our
gifts are complementary, not
competitive or hierarchical;
there is no one-to-ten scale
for gifts of the spirit. It is a gift
from God, of God. A gift to be
celebrated.
Trinity Sunday is a day for
the church to celebrate how it
understands God and how it
lives out that understanding.
It is an opportunity for us to
wrestle with, to struggle with,
and to celebrate the meaning
of God in our lives and in the
life of our faith community. It
is about getting back to basics.
Back to the community that
hears the salvation story, and
how God has acted through
history, and continues to act
in our lives, as we recognize
all are created in Gods image.
Back to the community that
lives the resurrected life of the
risen Christ and manifests in
the world by living as Jesus
autumn 2017 27
connecting

lived: a welcoming and inclu- baptizing in the name of the

sive life. Trinity.

Back to the community that May the grace of our Lord

knows it is empowered by Jesus Christ, the love of God
the Holy Spirit to live boldly and the communion of the
as it proclaims the good news Holy Spirit be with all of you.
and goes forth into the world

A few years ago, the Holy Spirit began to show up in new and
profound ways in my life. And while the things that began to
happen in and through me certainly fit within the charismat-
ic stream of Christianity, Ive noticed that it has changed my
understanding of tradition and things like the sacraments.
As an evangelical protestant, I tended to stay away from tra-
dition and didnt understand sacramental things. But now
I see tradition as like a tour guide on a hike up a moun-
tain that says, Many hikers before you stopped here to see
a magnificent sun set. Or, this has been a favored spot to
take pictures of birds in the canopy. Now I understand that
tradition was trying to get me to stop long enough to experi-
ence the presence of God in moments that I would otherwise
miss. Tradition teaches me that something special is hap-
pening at a wedding, at baptism, in communion. It teaches
me that God does show up in the material world, even if my
eyes have been cloaked in skepticism or pseudo-evangelical
gnosticism. Tradition shows me again and again until I have
eyes to see.
Mark Stephenson

28 anglicandigest.org
 ANGLICAN
BOOKSTORE

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autumn 2017 29
connecting

VAINGLORY: THE FORGOTTEN VICE

By Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung

In this volume, the author argues that we

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FAITH AT THE EDGE: A BOOK FOR DOUBTERS

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Have you ever doubted your faith, or that
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gathering telling

FOR YOUNG READERS:

WHO AM I?
By Katherine Paterson

Before Bridge to Terabithia, The Great

Gilly Hopkins, and Jacob Have I Loved,
Paterson wrote this exploration for
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AT YOUR BAPTISM
By Carrie Steenwyk, John D. Witvliet,
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autumn 2017 31
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32 anglicandigest.org
gathering
THE BREAD OF LIFE
The Rev. Andrew J. Archie
Twice a year, I am a facul-
ty member at an ecumenical
conference. Its unlike any-
thing else I do in the church
because I meet lots of other
clergy from other denomi-
nations Baptists, Method-
ists, Presbyterians people
I would not normally meet.
And its fascinating to me to
hear them discuss the Chris-
tian faith and their churches
from their completely differ-
ent perspectives. I remember,
one day, one Baptist preach-
er said, The purpose of my
whole ministry is to bring
everyone with whom I have
contact into a personal rela-
tionship with Christ. And I
thought, you know, Id nev-
er put it that way myself Is
that all there is to ministry?
Wouldnt you want to en-
courage a wide array of faith-
ful acts service to others,
study of scripture, knowledge
telling
of faith, witnessing to the ad-
vent of the coming kingdom,
on and on and on? Yet for
many churches, thats the big
question in fact, maybe the
only question: Do you have a
personal relationship with Je-
sus Christ? Of course, when it
all comes down to it, while the
Christian faith may be more
than this, its not less than this:
a personal relationship with
Jesus of Nazareth.
When I talk to people who
have no previous experience
in the church no church
background at all they
come in here wanting to know
more about the church, our
beliefs, our habits. Ive con-
cluded that this is mostly what
we are about: a personal rela-
tionship with Christ. Its about
Jesus, and its going to get per-
sonal. Surely, that is one of
the insights provided by the
enigmatic Gospel of John. In
the sixth chapter, when Jesus
miraculously feeds the mul-
titudes, he creates great con-
autumn 2017 33
connecting
troversy: Where did this man
get so much bread? How does
he have this miraculous power
to perform such a sign? And all
of this comes to a head when
Jesus pronounces, You want
to be satisfied? Satisfied for
all eternity? Then feed on me;
I am the bread. The crowds
clamoring after Jesus want
bread; he gives them bread
more than bread; he of-
fers them himself. The crowd
wants to get their hunger sat-
isfied; he urges them to cul-
tivate a hunger for him I
am bread, he says. Wouldnt it
have been a bit more comfort-
able if Jesus had said to them,
Now that you have eaten your
fill of my miraculous bread, let
me give you a lecture on the
essentials of the beliefs of the
Christian faith? But he doesnt
do that. He says, Feed on me.
Eat me. Take me the way you
would take in a good meal.
In a sermon delivered in the
middle of the 19th century
entitled Personal Influence:
34 anglicandigest.org
The Means of Propagating the
Truth perhaps the greatest
English theologian ever, John
Henry Newman, noted that
most people are persuaded
in matters of religion not by
what he called garrulous rea-
son, the arguments found in
books and systems of thought;
rather, people are persuaded
by other people. Newman tells
us, People persuade them-
selves with little difficulty to
scoff at principles, to ridicule
books, to make sport of the
names of good men; but they
cannot bear their presence; it
is holiness embodied in per-
sonal form which they can-
not steadily confront and bear
down. Reasons, theories, val-
ues are one thing, says New-
man; people are another. We
can come up with counter-ar-
guments for all arguments,
counter systems of thought
that nullify competing sys-
tems of thought, but what we
cant seem to resist are people,
concrete, personal embodi-
ments of thoughts and beliefs.
gathering
I remember 40 years ago
when the Episcopal Church
first ordained women, the
parish I grew up in had a
woman seminarian acting as
an intern. And I contrasted
the opinions of people in my
parish with people from other
parishes. And it seemed to me
then that the main factor in
how you felt about women in
the priesthood was not what
you believed about priest-
hood, but whether you actu-
ally knew a woman who was
functioning that way, or not.
Newman notes the great in-
strument of propagating mor-
al truth is personal knowl-
edge. Newman noted that
there appeared in 19th centu-
ry England to be less prejudice
against Roman Catholics in
small villages than in large cit-
ies like London or Liverpool.
He reasoned that this was true
because, in the small villages,
people actually got to know
their Roman Catholic neigh-
bors. They didnt think of Ro-
man Catholicism as an idea,
telling
a contrary system of belief;
rather, they thought of Roman
Catholicism as a person who
lived down the road.
Studies have shown that we
voters generally think much
more positively of our local
politicians than our nation-
al politicians, even though it
might be objectively shown
that our local politicians
have fewer credentials. But
we know them for who they
are, and we feel a higher level
of trust and appreciation for
what they do.
Newman, in his paper What
Is a University paid homage to
the written word that word
that has so thoroughly pen-
etrated our modern world.
He said that, by being able to
write things down, we have a
record of truth and authority
to which we can appeal again
and again and again in various
arguments. And then he said,
But if we wish to become ex-
act and fully furnished in any
autumn 2017 35
connecting
branch of knowledge which
is diversified and complicat-
ed, we must consult the living
man and listen to his living
voice. All higher education,
Newman would seem to be-
lieve, is apprenticeship a
novice adult looking over the
shoulders of a more experi-
enced adult; the apprentice
working at the desk with the
master.
Years ago, I remember seeing
an alumni magazine running
a series of stories about prom-
inent scholars and asking each
of them how they become en-
gaged in their field. I expect-
ed to read about how each of
them became enamored of a
particular field of study and
there was some of that but
to get into their field of study,
they had to go through a per-
son. Most of them told about
how proceeding down a par-
ticular path of study, they met
a professor who changed their
lives. In other words, they
were doing what they were
36 anglicandigest.org
doing and thinking what they
were thinking because theyd
had an encounter with a par-
ticular teacher, a particular
person.
All truly good arguments
are, to some degree, ad ho-
minem. Our reasons, our val-
ues and principles, are not as
detached as we like to think
they are. They are tethered to
some person and indeed,
I think they ought to be. The
great goal of higher education
should be to make everything
personal. The great struggle is
to keep ideas from becoming
merely universal, out there
some place, relevant to every-
body and therefore relevant
to nobody. We are moved to
intellectual assent much more
through our imagination than
through our intellect. And
other people are crucial to
sparking, stoking, and fueling
our imaginations. As New-
man says, deductions have
not power of persuasion. The
heart is commonly reached
gathering
not through reason but by
imagination, by means of di-
rect impressions Persons
influence us, voices melt us,
looks subdue us, deeds en-
flame us. Many a man will
live and die upon a dogma;
no man will be a martyr for a
conclusion.
Newman, who loved books,
went so far as to say there
could be education without
books. Even when discussing
Christian education, when
you would expect Newman
to praise the value of books
particularly that one book
called The Bible he says,
It is the living voice, the
breathing form, the expressive
countenance, which preach-
es.
I remember a wonderful lit-
tle Christian meditation I re-
cently read on why Christians
should be against email, tex-
ting, Twitter, and all the rest.
The author says that Chris-
tians must resist the tendency
telling
toward unembodied commu-
nication because of the incar-
nation. Try communicating
face to face. We believe that
God has come in the flesh
among us. We are big on bod-
ies. We dont believe there can
be any true communication
no Communion, no com-
munity without bodies.
Newman noted that Chris-
tianity meets us with simple
acts and actions about peo-
ple, about a person not with
generalized laws or metaphys-
ical conjecture. Christianity
meets us with Jesus and the
Resurrection. Any maybe all
this talk is too ethereal, too
subjective, for you on a Sun-
day morning. When we are
encountered by another, one
thing that impresses us is the
other. This person is free from
us, not some projection of
our ego, but rather that oth-
er who impinges on our ego,
changing us, reforming us.
Our encounter is deep, but
its an encounter not with our
autumn 2017 37
connecting
deepest selves but with some
other. The point of the Church
is to provoke that kind of en-
counter. We become different
people not through the culti-
vation of and exercise of our
egos, but through the culti-
vation of and exercise of en-
counters with other people. I
was talking about this the oth-
er day with a parishioner, who
said, I know exactly what
youre talking about. I find
that to be true when I spend
time with Republicans.
The Gospel is a reminder that
the Christian faith is more
than a set of beliefs, a list of
intellectual propositions, a
collection of teachings or sets
of principles. It is a matter of
being encountered by a per-
son Jesus a matter of
God getting personal with us,
engaging us, dwelling in us,
and we in him, as the liturgy
puts it. For those who want
to fill their stomachs that day
with Jesus, or to have a pleas-
ant discussion about spiritual
38 anglicandigest.org
matters, Jesus says to them, I
am the bread of life. Feed on
me.
I know somebody who spent
much of her life trying to fig-
ure out whether or not she was
a Christian. Very intellectual
sort of person, very intelligent.
She had trouble with different
aspects of the Christian faith.
Saying the Apostles Creed
was often a painful experience
for her. Then one day, she said
to me, Well, Ive decided to
stop thinking about Jesus, and
decided to start living with
him. Ive decided that, though
there is so much that mysti-
fies me and troubles me about
what I dont know about Jesus,
I need to go with what I know,
which is Jesus.
When you approach the altar
rail and kneel for Commu-
nion, you will receive wine
and bread in which we see
the very body and blood of
Christ. This is a chance for
Christ to become part of you,
gathering
for things to get personal, for
the word to become flesh
your flesh. The chance that
Jesus will mystically penetrate
every fiber of your being, and
that your personal relation-
ship with Christ will be nur-
tured, fed, and strengthened.
Come to the Lords table. Feed
on him.
QQQ
THE BENEDICT
OPTION IS NOT ON
THE BRUNCH MENU
The Rev. Benjamin B. Maddison
I have not read The Bene-
dict Option, and honestly, I
probably wont. Not because I
have any strong feelings about
Christian renewal, or am
passing judgment on those
who would adhere to the faith
in intentional, separate com-
munities, or even because of
the (somewhat) silly name
one that inevitably makes
telling
me think of delicious Eggs
Benedict but provides only
analogies to medieval mon-
asteries and religious prac-
tices. (Bummer.) No, I wont
read The Benedict Option be-
cause I dont need to be told
how to live as a Christian in a
post-Christian world.
Im already doing it. Ive been
doing it for years.
I used to be part of a partic-
ular religious community that
took very seriously the no-
tion of separating Christians
from everyone else. The best
Christian witness, I was told,
was for your neighbor or en-
emy or non-Christian friend
to recognize that something
is different about you, thus
leading to their eventual and
dramatic Saul-like conversion
(and another notch on your
saving-heathens-from-eter-
nal-hellfire belt.)
I heard sermons and talks and
discussions about the trav-
autumn 2017 39
connecting

esty of a world where Chris- we cause another believer to

tians were indiscernible from stumble.
non-Christians. Teenaged
But all of that was just win-
Christians, they said, have just
as much sex, use just as much dow dressing. At the heart of
foul language, experiment this either/or life, this in/out
just as much with drugs and dichotomy, was the Gospel.
alcohol, and consume just as A gospel that seemed to go
much secular media as their something like this: For God
non-Christian counterparts. so loved the world, that he
Clearly, these researches had gave his only son, that who-
never met me! I didnt start ever believes in him will not
sinning in earnest until my perish but have eternal life.
early twenties. For God sent his son to con-
demn the world, and to save
But that didnt stop me from some from it.
feeling the burden of being a
Christian in the world. Be The benefit of being sepa-
in the world, but not of the rate from the world is that it
world. Purge all secular me- made Gods job easier when
dia from your life movies, he would pluck each of us up
CDs, and cassette tapes. We at the End.
burned them dramatically as That guy is listening to Cold-
if that somehow made it more play, hes definitely not a Chris-
impactful (and less stupid and tian. Ah, but there, there is a
wasteful and privileged) person listening to Delirious,
burnt offerings to a God who clearly she needs to be saved.
demanded charred plastic,
Christian-specific consump- Im sorry sir, you cant be saved
tion, and the covering up because you enjoyed Magic the
of knees and shoulders, lest Gathering and Harry Potter;

40 anglicandigest.org
gathering
could you please let the person
behind you pass by; he liked
Left Behind for Kids and Re-
demption, which were the
better choice.
I dont say this in a bitter or
sad sort of way. I love where
I came from because it made
me who I am today.
I say it because we are obsessed
with how the post-Christian
world is going to affect Chris-
tianity.
We have fooled ourselves
into thinking there was ever
a Christian world to begin
with.
One of the best things about
the 1979 Book of Common
Prayer is that, for all its faults
and strengths, it attempted to
look down the pike and see
what was coming. I believe
the prayer book is still contro-
versial because it was so ahead
of its time. We are still wres-
tling with what the changes
from the 1928 prayer book
telling
mean, and its 2017. How
prescient for the drafters to
normalize the liturgy for adult
baptism preparing the
church for the throngs of the
faithless. Or to add options
for new understandings of the
church and new expressions
of faith. And how amazing is
it that they also made an ef-
fort to cling to what is true
from the historic creeds and
the catechism to the historic
documents the things that
make us not only Christians
but Anglicans.
Its weird in some ways to be
a part of both traditions
one that purports to be con-
temporary but still longs for
a non-existent past; and an-
other that lives in the past,
and yet whose eyes are firmly
fixed in the future.
But, Anglicanism would just
have been my new window
dressing that is, if it hadnt
changed my understanding of
the Gospel.
autumn 2017 41
connecting
O God of unchangeable power
and eternal light: Look favor-
ably on your whole Church,
that wonderful and sacred
mystery; by the effectual work-
ing of your providence, carry
out in tranquility the plan of
salvation; let the whole world
see and know that things
which were cast down are be-
ing raised up, and things which
had grown old are being made
new and that all things are
being brought to their perfec-
tion by him through whom all
things were made, your Son Je-
sus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer, p.
291
Christianity can never be es-
capism because where are
we escaping to? We dont get
to be the god of our own plan-
et; we dont get to be spirited
away to some gauzy, golden
city; we dont get to be rein-
carnated into a puppy dog or
bunny rabbit or grizzly bear.
John 3:17 For God did not
send his son into the world
42 anglicandigest.org
to condemn the world, but
that the world might be saved
through him
The truth is: there is no sec-
ular world and there is no
Christian world. Theres no
world to escape from or histo-
ry to escape to.
In the life, death, and resur-
rection of Jesus Christ, the
words of John the Baptist be-
come our hope Behold,
the Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world.
If you want to be a Christian
in a post-Christian age, start
by admitting that there is
nothing making you differ-
ent or special or better from
anyone else. Who am I? Am
I a Christian teen whose light
shines so brightly he has con-
verted his whole school? Or
maybe Im a frequent back-
slider, just waiting to rededi-
cate my life to the tough work
of living in and reclaiming
Christendom? Or maybe Im
one of those secular people,
gathering telling

one of the ever growing, reli-to. There is no secular world

gions nones who (rightly) separate from a Christian
are saying no-thank-you to world. There are only people
organized religion that prom- in need of saving, neighbors
ises only escapism, factional-in need of loving. And being a
ism, and tribalism. Christian in the world means
we get to do that work its
Who am I? I am a patient in a privilege granted by the life,
need of a doctor; a sinner in death, and resurrection of Je-
need of a savior. sus Christ.

The Good News of the Gos- And thats good news.

pel is the same today as it was
on the day of Pentecost. Jesus
Christ died to take away the
sins of the world. That work
is finished, done, completed.
The heavy-lifting has been
done. Theres no more CDs
to destroy or videogames to
crush or books to burn.
The only thing left is this
amazing promise: that we are
invited to participate in Gods
work by loving others, people
who are in as much need and
bear as many scars as we did.
Theres nothing to escape
from and nowhere to escape
Im still not going to read The
Benedict Option, but what
you do is up to you.
Life is short, and we do not
have much time to gladden
the hearts of those who
make the journey with us.
So be swift to love, and
make haste to be kind. And
the blessing of God, who
made us, who loves us,
and who travels with us be
with you now and forever.
Amen.
Based on the words of
Henri Frederic Amiel
(1821-1881)

autumn 2017 43
connecting

THESE DAYS, WE These are jealous gods who

STILL SACRIFICE demand no less than the full-
OUR KIDS TO IDOLS time devotion of their adher-
ents. Any parent who does
Rabbi Stephen M. Wylen not bow and pray before the
soccer god risks Eternal De-
The Bible tells us that when rision and Being Out of the
King Solomon was old he Loop (the modern equiva-
went astray by erecting an lents of damnation and exile).
altar to the Canaanite god
Molech in the Valley of Hin- The soccer god allows his ad-
nom. herents to eat, sleep, and at-
tend school a concession to
The idol of Molech was a fur- necessity but all the rest of
nace, with the gods mouth the worshippers time belongs
serving as the opening to feed to HIM. Devotees are struck
the fire. The Bible tells us that with lightning bolts at the first
parents worshipped Molech sign of distraction or slacken-
by throwing their children ing devotion.
into the fire as a sacrifice to
this hungry, demanding god. At one point, John Cardinal
Molech worship was quite OConnor criticized youth
fashionable in those days. sports leagues for holding
games on Sunday mornings,
Today, parents offer their chil- forcing families to choose be-
dren up to the ever-hungry tween worship and athletics.
and always demanding soccer
god. Related sects worship the The cardinals critique re-
gods of football, basketball, minded me of a meeting of
gymnastics, and Little League my clergy association here
baseball. in rural Pennsylvania. When

44 anglicandigest.org
gathering
the local youth sports asso-
ciation started holding foot-
ball games on Sunday morn-
ings, the Roman Catholic and
Protestant clergy said, We
should have protested when
they started having games on
Saturday mornings. If we had
defended the Jewish Sabbath
then, we wouldnt have this
problem now.
The Christian clergy said
this to one another with no
prompting from me. The
Jewish community had never
even asked them to help us
fight against Saturday morn-
ing games. The clergy were
just acknowledging to them-
selves that all religions have
to stand together in the face
of irreligion. Religious dev-
otees must join hands if they
are to prevent an effective al-
ternative to the secular rituals
that have replaced traditional
religion in American life, rit-
uals such as youth sports and
music lessons and school play
rehearsals.
telling
When I ask parents not to pull
their children out of Hebrew
school 15 minutes early, the
parents respond, What can I
do? The coach says that if the
players arent on the field by 6,
theyll be benched! Benched
for acquiring a religious edu-
cation!
I plead with the parents:
You are being subjected to
religious oppression. This is
America, the land of liberty,
where we are supposed to be
free to believe according to
the dictates of our conscience.
Who is the coach to interfere
with the exercise of our rights
as Americans? The parents
shrug their shoulders. Who
can argue with a coach?
All right, I admit, Im green
with envy. Outside the Ortho-
dox world, a rabbi in America
can seldom corral this much
authority to influence peoples
behavior. I would give a lot if
people would respond to my
sermons as if I were a Little
autumn 2017 45
connecting
League coach. Does it make
me feel any better to discover
that a cardinal has the same
trouble being heard that I
have? Not much!
My sons wrestling coach be-
came my bicycling partner
and good friend. As we rode
and talked, I would hear from
the coachs point of view.
He complained about the
kids lack of dedication, their We grow in the image of the
missing practices, their fre- gods we worship. The soccer
quent failures to do their best. god frightens me.
He needed more from his
charges more time, more
hard work, more devotion.
But this coach was a leader
in the Presbyterian church, a
man who attended church ev-
ery Sunday. His wrestlers of-
ten got poor seedings in tour-
naments because he wouldnt
bend the rules, even if other
coaches did. He wanted his
wrestlers to give their best in
life, not just in wrestling to
serve their God, their family,
46 anglicandigest.org
their community, and them-
selves, to the utmost of their
ability.
Its fine with me if my child
becomes a pitcher or center-
forward. Its also fine with me
if my child does not. With or
without sports, as long as my
child becomes a mensch a
true human being I will be
happy.
QQQ
A PLACE TO STAND
The Rev. Dr. Georg Retzlaff
Archimedes, the great mathe-
matician and inventor, is be-
lieved to have said, Give me a
place to stand, and I will move
the earth. He, the founder of
theoretical mechanics, was
gathering telling

talking about the law of the difference, of shrugging ones

lever, the concept of gravity: shoulders, of not giving a whit
in order to move anything, about either questions or an-
one has to stand some-where, swers to anything. Pollsters
at a precise location, to exer- began to seem alarmed about
cise maximum leverage. That the ever-growing number of
was in the third century BC. undecided, dont know,
and no opinion replies to
What is true in mechan- their questions.
ics seems to be increasingly
doubtful in the public are- Taking a stand to move
na. Once upon a time, peo- things, thats almost frowned
ple had all the answers; then upon, a kind of synonym of
the answers were subjected opinionated or inflexible
to scrutiny, and were found or closed-minded. Taking a
wanting. Then, with Ein- stand, in a fast-moving world
stein, began the insight that which, in the blink of an
all answers are relative: they eye, discards the truths of
depend on the observer (his yesterday seems a waste of
age, gender, class). Recently, time to many. Better to keep
even the questions have been an open mind, settle nothing,
exposed as being conditioned float eternally, come down
by who we are. If there is so on no side. Politicians, ped-
many possible answers to lifes agogues, and preachers alike
questions if even the ques- find that is often the safest
tions cannot be shared with route to travel.
everyone whats the use
of thinking at all? An article By embracing all positions,
in The Washington Post once we embrace none; by listening
called the 1990s the decade to everyone, we listen to no-
of whatever, a time of in- body; by relativizing all ques-

autumn 2017 47
connecting
tions and answers, we stop
asking altogether.
Is there really no place to
stand on? Are there neither
questions nor answers we can
use as a platform from which
to move the world? I would
suggest that you explore a
certain long-neglected doc-
ument found in the Book of
Common Prayer (pp. 867-
876): the Thirty-Nine Arti-
cles. Although they are more
important in the Church of
England, they still form the
bedrock upon which the Epis-
copal Church is resting. They
attempt to single out 39 issues
which are of supreme impor-
tance for anyone professing
to follow Christ. Some of the
answers are classic and defin-
itive; others are so vague as
to allow multiple interpreta-
tions; others again are clearly
dated. But they give us a place
to start and move the world;
they are markers in unmarked
territory, guideposts on our
spiritual journey.
48 anglicandigest.org
ALL WHO HAVE
GONE ASTRAY
The Rev. Richard H. Schmidt
O God, whose glory it is
always to have mercy: be
gracious to all who have
gone astray from thy ways,
and bring them again with
penitent hearts and stead-
fast faith to embrace and
hold fast the unchangeable
truth of thy word.
This collect is unique. All
but five of the collects for the
church year in the 1979 Book
of Common Prayer are peti-
tions for the church. Of the
five that are pray for the world
beyond the church, three
pray for the conversion of the
world, and one for its peace-
able governance. This collect
stands alone in that its peti-
tion is not for the church, nor
even for the world at large,
but specifically for those who
have rejected the Gospel of
Christ.
gathering
Why do people turn away
from Christ? More often than
we would like to admit, I sus-
pect, it is because of what
they see in Christians: bick-
ering, hypocrisy, self-satisfac-
tion, power struggles, money
grubbing, and the like. When
we Christians examine our-
selves closely, we see the same
things. We would do well to
remind ourselves in our con-
fessions that perhaps the main
reason people turn aside from
Jesus Christ is that they see so
little of him in those who bear
his name. It is well to pray for
their conversion, but perhaps
our conversion must come
first.
The main reason people turn
away from Christ has to do
not with Christians, but with
the people themselves. Those
who have been abused, ma-
ligned, or exploited, who have
not known human love, usu-
ally cannot accept the love of
God. They become what they
have known, after mocking
telling
what is good and holy. Al-
though they are wrong to re-
ject Christ, they are only part-
ly to blame.
The words of this collect are
therefore gentle. There is no
hint of rebuke or judgment.
We remind ourselves that
God is always merciful, as
much to those who do not
acknowledge him as to those
who do. We then bid him to
be gracious to all who have
gone astray, as he has been to
us, bringing them, as he has
brought us, to embrace the
truth of his Word.
Christians sometimes try to
do Gods work for him. This
collect acknowledges that it
is God that brings the way-
ward into the fold. We do not
do this. We can introduce
others to Christ and provide
them opportunities to deepen
their knowledge of him, but
we must trust God to do the
work of conversion in their
lives. Our job is to live faith-
autumn 2017 49
connecting

fully day-to-day, and to make GIANTS

the Church a place of wel-
come for those whom God The Rev. D. Lorne Coyle
brings in.
I grew up with a man whom
What of those who reject I admire, my father. He was
Christ and die without having a television executive, one of
returned to him? The devil the pioneers in that medium,
dances with delight when we joining the fledgling Ameri-
ask that sort of question. It can Broadcasting/Paramount
is none of our business, and Theatres network in 1950. He
raising the question leads to rose to prominence in that
fractious debates over who organization. Visitors to our
is in and who is out of the home included people like a
Kingdom. Our energy wast- young Australian newspaper-
ed on such matters, we have man named Rupert Murdoch.
little left with which to serve
and enjoy our Lord. It is well That was my fathers life from
to remember that this col- Monday to Friday. On Sun-
lect affirms, that Gods glory days, both parents would
is always to have mercy, and drag us three children off to
that the truth of his Word is St. Elizabeths Church. Morn-
unchangeable. I take this to ing Prayer was the usual fare:
mean that hell, which is the O come, let us sing unto the
state of being separated from Lord; let us heartily rejoice in
God by choice, is eternal for the strength of our salvation.
only those who choose to I dreaded First Sundays. Then
make it so. Gods arms are we would have Holy Com-
eternally open for those who munion, which meant recit-
wish to return to him. ing the Ten Commandments
(including the tiny-type de-
50 anglicandigest.org
gathering
tails from the Bible). I would
measure my slow death from
boredom beginning with the
giant letter A at the opening
of the Prayer of Consecration,
through the W and down
on past the last two As.
But one thing I do remem-
ber: my father on his knees.
I would slowly open my eyes
during the prayers, hoping
not to get caught peeking,
and look over at him. Sure
enough, his eyes were closed
and he was kneeling. I knew
even then that kneeling was
a posture of submission and
reverence. There he was: a
powerful New York executive
on his knees before another
what? It couldnt have been
the Book of Common Prayer
beautiful, but still a book. It
couldnt have been the Word
preached, as it was uniformly
badly done. It couldnt have
been just the custom; he was
making new customs in com-
mercial TV. It was something
so big that I couldnt even
telling
imagine it, much less say it.
Something so powerful that it
commanded his respect.
I want our children to see
their parents at prayer, kneel-
ing, praising, listening. They
can watch these giants in their
lives mothers and fathers
admit that there is yet a
Giant far greater, so powerful,
so loving, so fearsome, that
all they can do is worship.
And the child will see God
Almighty better for it.
QQQ
DO YOU GET IT?
The Rev. Jon Caridad
I was with a group of people
who were talking about their
faith and how they caught
it. One man got to his feet and
said, I was an Episcopalian
for 38 years before anybody
really told me about Jesus!
What I think he meant to say
was, I attended church faith-
autumn 2017 51
connecting

fully for 38 years before I re- ry, and by Gods people who
ally experienced and lived my have told us that story so that
faith. This is called delayed it becomes our story. We live
response. in our faith and grow in our
commitment in the context
But, his statement did sound of the faithful community of
a bit smug in that context. I believers, and we join in the
wanted every person who had journey with them.
endured him in all of his years
growing up in Sunday School,
and every preacher who had QQQ
tried to preach to him, and
every Christian who had tried
to tell him about Jesus, to rise Sunday School? 40 hours
up and ask, What do you maximum per year; 240 hours
think we were trying to get for a child from grade one
into your head for those 38 through grade six.
year?
Public School? 1,170 hours
Certainly, it may take some per year; 9,180 hours for a
people longer than others to child from grade one through
get the point, but none of us grade six, including 2 hours
becomes a committed Chris- for homework, 6 nights per
tian without the support, love, week.
example, and encouragement
of the community around us. By the time our children are in
Whenever a person wakes up the seventh grade, an average
to his or her true identity in of 2.6% of their educational
Christ, it is always a gift. The experience has been devoted
gift is given freely and loving- to learning about God and
ly by a God who is the sto- their ultimate destiny.

52 anglicandigest.org
gathering
CHRISTIANITYS
DISUNITY,
DYSFUNCTION AND
DISAPPOINTMENT
The Rev. John Burkhart
My heart aches seeing so
many good people of different
Christian denominations iso-
lated from one another. For
the last seven years, since re-
tiring from 50 years of pastor-
ing, my wife Milly and I wor-
ship in different churches on
Sunday mornings. The same
Christianity in all its basics is
found in all of them.
Although Christianity is seen
historically and indisputably
as the most persuasive and in-
fluential force ever to impact
the human race, its present
efficacy is a fraction of what
it should and could be if
Christians were to practice
the love and unity Jesus di-
rected. Denominational sep-
aratism and competition
plague his church. A reci-
procity of fault-finding and
telling
condemning between Chris-
tian denominations violates
the very core message of love
and unity.
Not practicing this core mes-
sage of its founder has ren-
dered his church very much
adrift, with little wind in its
sail. This isolated denomina-
tional apathy has, for some
centuries, pervasively char-
acterized Christianitys inef-
fective growth. Two-thirds of
the world remains non-Chris-
tian, not impressed with the
infighting and the orienta-
tion toward self-serving and
self-preservation that domi-
nates the interest and energy
of so many church congrega-
tions. Christian disunity has
persistently blurred, distort-
ed, and skewed the image of
Jesus, epitomizing and per-
petuating the ineffectual di-
lemma of his church. Hindus,
Muslims, and atheists alike
shake their heads at the po-
lemic rivalry between Chris-
tians.
autumn 2017 53
connecting
Christians have progressed
through the centuries pro-
claiming the pristine and sub-
lime law of love, only to void
that proclamation by their
persistent aloofness from
each other. Perhaps the most
disturbing experience of my
many years of ministry has
been the handful of pastors in
communities who participate
in their local ministerial asso-
ciation. The many absent pas-
tors so often see themselves as
running a competitive private
enterprise, and so they do not
enjoy the company of their
competitors.
Further, the incessant diver-
sification and fragmentation
of denominations sends a dis-
torted and confusing picture
of the Gospel to the world.
It is a marvel and a miracle
(only by the grace of God) that
Christian denominations, in
all their flagrant deviancies,
remain the major religion of
the world. The dynamic pow-
54 anglicandigest.org
er and magnificence of the
Gospel brings to my mind the
image of a high-performance
sports car idling on the side
of the road; so few are willing
to put Christianity in gear, to
practice acceptance, respect,
unity and love for one anoth-
er, all the while adhering to
ones personal denomination-
al commitment. Scarce few of
us Christians ignite the joy
of standing together as one
church, obeying the mandate
of Gods Son that we be one.
Christians of all denomina-
tions regularly gathering in
one place, under one roof
perhaps something of the
old-fashioned tent revival or a
monthly ecumenical worship
in an arena would validate
our Lords one church.
I pray Father that they be one
as you and I are one. [John
17:21]
What a profound testimony
it could be for the two-thirds
gathering telling

(or more) of Americans and QQQ

the worlds Christians who are
unchurched to see Christiani- Have faith in God. Do not be
ty in action unified! tempted either by pleasures
and material possessions, or
This regular and overt display by the claims of science and
of unity and love would com- smart thinkers, into believing
pel the world to repeat what that religion is obsolete, that
was said of the early Chris- the worship of God is some-
tians, Look how these Chris- how beneath you. Spiritual
tians love one another. [Ter- nourishment is as important
tullian 155 224 AD] as physical nourishment and
intellectual nourishment.
Do not beg God for favors. In-
stead, ask God for the wisdom
QQQ to know what is right, what
God wants done, and the will
to do it. Know the Bible. Read
the Psalms and the Sermon
on the Mount, and everything
else in that timeless book. You
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women, both married and single, inscribed there the meaning
not living in community.
For information contact: of life and the way you should
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2 Creighton Lane deeper understanding of lifes
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http://www.osa-anglican.org
Arthur Ashe, in a letter
to his daughter Camera
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QQQ
autumn 2017 55
connecting
ENCOURAGEMENT
The Rt. Rev. Edward Lloyd
Salmon, Jr.
Adapted from an address.
Many years ago in my very
first congregation, I had a
friend who survived a Ger-
man prisoner-of-war camp,
where he lived for over two
years. He did not have a Bi-
ble or a prayer book. He told
me that every day, he tried to
recite as much of the Com-
munion Service as he could
remember and by the time
I knew him in 1960, he could
say nearly the entire liturgy
by heart. He said that the one
part he never forgot was the
Comfortable Words and
he prayed them several times
a day:
Hear what comfortable
words our Saviour Christ
saith unto all who truly
turn to him.
Come unto me, all ye that
56 anglicandigest.org
travail and are heavy lad-
en, and I will refresh you.
So God loved the world,
that he gave his only-be-
gotten Son, to the end
that all that believe in him
should not perish, but
have everlasting life.
Hear also what Saint Paul
saith.
This is a true saying, and
worthy of all men to be
received, That Christ Je-
sus came into the world to
save sinners.
Hear also what Saint John
saith.
If any man sin, we have an
Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous;
and he is the Propitiation
for our sins.
(1928 Book of Common
Prayer, p. 76)
In the midst of the apparent
hopelessness and despair of
the prison camp, he neverthe-
less felt rooted and focused;
gathering telling

he knew a strange sense of and revelation is rejected. The

peace. In those comfortable difficulty is that all experience
words of Hold Scripture, he is under the dominion of sin.
focused on God in Christ and I believe, as does my friend,
what God had done for him that our leadership is frac-
and the whole world. He was tured; we see the leadership
able to see God at work in not seeking the discipline and
that dreadful place. Little acts patience that are necessary to
of kindness, which seemed create a unified voice for the
to spring from his devotions, whole church. We see the po-
had a way of multiplying in liticizing of pain to empower
marvelous ways. When he our own agendas while we
shared some of his pitiful ra- desperately need to learn how
tions with a sick brother, his to bear burdens and pains for
gifts multiplied like the loaves each other, as Christ does for
and the fishes as other prison- us, so that the whole Body
ers began likewise to share. may be built up. I could not
disagree with many of the
In contrast, some time ago, I charges made in my friends
received a letter from a friend letter, and I was depressed
who was thinking of leav- when I finished it.
ing the Church. The letter
was a three-page document, Depressed, perhaps. But dis-
an indictment, listing all the couraged? Not at all. My con-
Churchs ills, a letter the focus fidence is in Gods victory
of which was entirely nega- already won. I am clear that
tive. I could not disagree with there is no promise that our
many of the charges made. I living will be without tribu-
believe, as does my friend, that lation. We must expect it in
we are in an era when appeal life and particularly in dras-
to experience reigns supreme tically changing times such as

autumn 2017 57
connecting
these. Yet when we focus on
Christ and the gifts of his own
ministry the deaf hear, the
blind see, the crippled walk
problems become opportu-
nities for us and the Church. I
am not nave about the tough
work that is before us in the
Church, but I am strength-
ened by what I see God do-
ing in a multitude of places
around the Church. The first
line of mission in troubled
times is to be faithful here,
where we are, and to continue
to build unity on Gods gra-
cious activity among us. From
that foundation we can then
engage the problems beyond.
It is an entirely new world out
there desperately, as al-
ways, in need of Christs love.
In many ways the Church is
divided and uncertain, and
it speaks with an uncertain
voice. The culture is becom-
ing increasingly unfriend-
ly, and we have a formidable
challenge. I can say Thanks
be to God [for what unity
58 anglicandigest.org
there is], but we know there
are many battles to fight.
My old friend gave me a wit-
ness and a testimony to a life
that was rooted in prayer and
sacrament, and that rooting
was able to stand him in good
stead in terrible times.
QQQ
I was amused (devastated?)
to see [in a church conference
brochure] that the only ses-
sions listed as optional are
worship services. Of course,
you know what the organiz-
ers will say. But have they not,
unwittingly, put their fingers
on the real root of our trou-
bles? We talk and talk; we
have seminars and forums.
But a prayerless Church is a
powerless Church. When the
essentials become optionals,
we might as well close the
shop.
The Most Rev. Donald
Coggan, 101st Archbishop
of Canterbury
gathering telling

SLOTH would be moot. Lunch could

be chalked up to edifying
The Rev. Steven W. Lawler conversation. Hangtime in
Picture yourself reclined the hammock could be jus-
and contemplative. You are tified as contemplation of
plunked down in a lounge the self, taking stock in ones
chair parked beside a blue life.
body of water. A cold drink
is a short reach away. Add a Which skewers us on the
cell phone, a book, a laptop horns of a dilemma: How can
or tablet, a briefcase full of we avoid sloth the neglect
files, and a never-ending to- of those things necessary for
do list, and you will have what the continual development
qualifies these days a relax- of character caused by in-
ation. This scenario may, in attention to the things we are
fact, seem the very picture of responsible for? If we say yes
sloth. to joining the extra commit-
tee at work, how can not fol-
It is, but for reasons other lowing through be considered
than youd expect. a character builder? And what
The great philosophers saw about all those meetings?
sloth not as a lack of produc- Simple. Forget character de-
tive activity, but as the neglect velopment. Bad idea, too
of those things necessary for much work, pretentious. In-
the continual development stead, join the ranks of the
of character. In their estima- do-nothing, know-nothing
tion, it would be fine to lin- world of nappers and daw-
ger over lunch or stretch out dlers.
on the old rope hammock; as
long as these activities edi- Afternoon got you over-
fied us, outward appearances whelmed? Too much on your
autumn 2017 59
connecting
plate? Sneak away for a nap.
Rushing from place to place?
List of to-dos out of control?
Wander the aisles of the gro-
cery store. Ponder the many
varieties of lettuce, the eccen-
tricities of tropical fruit, the
brown crust of freshly-baked
bread. Breathe.
Gradually, magically, the path
begins to open up. A shim-
mer of light dances across the
dewy lettuce leaves. It catches
your eye. The sheer oddity of
a star fruit strikes you as beau-
tiful. Its a languid step from
there to practicing a deeper
sense of gratitude, with an en-
hanced character thrown in.
It is risky business, sloth. But
after all, whats the big deal
about missing a meeting?
QQQ
Actions degenerate to suit the
language that is used. Our
attitudes are reflected in our
words.
The Rev. Dr. Marius
J. Lindloff
60 anglicandigest.org
GOING TO CHURCH
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt offered his
reasons for going to church
in Ladies Home Journal in
1917.
1. In this actual work a church-
less community, a community
where men have abandoned
and scoffed at or ignored their
religious needs, is a commu-
nity on the rapid downgrade.
It is perfectly true that occa-
sional individuals or families
may have nothing to do with
church or with religious prac-
tices and observances and yet
maintain the highest standard
of spirituality and of ethical
obligation. But this does not
affect the case in the world as
it now is, any more than that
exceptional men and woman
under exceptional conditions
have disregarded the mar-
riage tie without moral harm
to themselves interferes with
the larger fact that such disre-
gathering telling

gard if at all common means fact the average man does not
the complete moral disinte- thus worship or thus dedicate
gration of the body politic. himself. If he stays away from
church he does not spend his
2. Church work and church time in good works or lofty
attendance mean the culti- meditation. He looks over
vation of the habit of feeling the colored supplement of the
some responsibility for others newspaper.
and the sense of braced mor-
al strength which prevents a 5. He may not hear a good
relaxation of ones own moral sermon at church. But unless
fiber. he is very unfortunate, he will
hear a sermon by a good [per-
3. There are enough holidays son] who is engaged all the
for most of us which can quite week long in a series of wear-
properly be devoted to pure ing and humdrum and im-
holiday making Sundays portant tasks for making hard
differ from other holidays lives a little easier.
among other ways in the
fact that there are fifty-two of 6. He will listen to and take
them every year On Sun- part in reading some beauti-
day, go to church. ful passages from the Bible.
And if he is not familiar with
4. Yes, I know all the excus- the Bible, he has suffered a
es. I know that one can wor- loss
ship the Creator and dedicate
oneself to good living in a 7. He will probably take part
grove of trees, or by a running in singing some good hymns.
brook, or in ones own house,
just as well as in church. But I 8. He will meet and nod to, or
also know as a matter of cold speak to, good, quiet neigh-

autumn 2017 61
connecting
bors He will come away
feeling a little more charitably
toward all the world, even to-
ward those excessively fool-
ish young men who regard
church-going as rather a soft
performance.
9. I advocate a mans joining
in church works for the sake
of showing his faith by his
works.
10. The man who does not in
some way, active or not, con-
nect himself with some active,
working church misses many
opportunities for helping his
neighbors, and therefore, in-
cidentally, for helping himself.
QQQ
There is more and more
being written nowadays about
spirituality, but it is a strange
sort of religious discipline be-
ing discussed. The spirituality
I hear being discussed is very
me-focused. People describe
it as learning to center in on
the deeper part of oneself,
62 anglicandigest.org
listening to my heart, going
deeper within. This is a curi-
ous notion. The idea is that,
if I listen closely enough to
myself, my soul will be nour-
ished.
It is true that God places the
voice of conscience within
each individual, but Christian
spirituality is a transcendent
experience, learning the dis-
cipline of listening to God,
not to oneself. Fasting, prayer,
silence, meditation are to be
focused upon God the Father,
enabled by the Holy Spir-
it who joins us to the Father
through the gracious door-
way of forgiveness opened
by Jesus, the Son. Meditation
which only looks within is
bound to disappoint ultimate-
ly because lifes answers are
not to be found in the depths
of the human heart.
The Rev. John W. Yates, II
QQQ
Keep the faith,
and share it, too.
 connecting

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