A Positively Poetic Priest

Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Thanksgiving Day BCP 246) I still have kale growing in my lettuce bed. After the last couple weeks of cold temperatures and a few frosts, I'm not sure how its still growing, but I am trying to enjoy the blessing of fresh grown kale from my garden. It reminds me that even though things can be harsh, there may still be blessings waiting for us. Through all the troubles and frustrations, there are still reasons to give thanks for this year. Certainly this year has been rough, hard, frustrating, and troublesome (or however you would like to phrase it, I have to be somewhat dipl...

 11/19/20 What does it mean to be free?  Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Proper 29 BCP 236) What does it mean to be free?  The Collect for this coming Sunday, the last Sunday of our liturgical year, prays that we all may be freed from sin and brought together under Christ. In this year, a year full of struggles around freedom and personal safety for many, the question about what it means to be free is poignant. Many people feel that true freedom is being able to do whatever they want whenever they want, despite other people. However, at no time in human civilization, has that been the definition of freedom. Freedom has always been impacted by social an...

Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 28 BCP 236) The Collect for this coming Sunday has always been one of my favorites. Just the imagery of inwardly digesting the Scriptures is wonderful. But what hits me this year, in our crazy ongoing process of a year of concern and care, is the ongoing process of relationship with the Scriptures. We can't just listen to them or read them once, we also have to mark them, learn them, digest them. The only way we will hold on to the hope of everlasting life is by returning over and over again to the Scriptures.  We all need hope right now. With so much uncertainty in our lives, our gratitude and hope in God's promis...

O God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. It is amazing how quickly we get used to routines of worry. As I write this, we are still waiting on final election tallies. We are living at a time of increased risk of illness as the COVID-19 case total rises sharply. We are questioning what the future will hold and what we should do about the different aspects of our lives. It can be hard to see beyond the answers, and more questions, the next few days will hold. Thankfully, as Christians, our big picture has not changed. We are still looking forward in hope to the day when Jesus "comes again with power and great glo...