A Positively Poetic Priest

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 8 BCP 230) If you've ever read through Paul's seminal letter to the Romans, you'll know he put his mind to work writing it. Paul uses every trick and device of reason and scripture to appeal to the new Christians living in Rome. He uses his great reasoning skills to bring to fruit some of the best theology we have from the Bible. He outlines faith in Christ and begins the Church's understanding of Christology, he outlines justification by faith and God's work of salvation through Christ.  Paul didn't have tradition or the Church to fall back on when he started writing his letters...

O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 5  BCP 229) Even as self-labeled Christians, it can sometimes be easy to forget that our foundation is in God. Thankfully, every time we engage in prayer or Church services or spiritual practices or Bible study, we are given another reminder that God is the foundation of our identity. The Collect for this coming Sunday states this straight away: "O God, from whom all good proceeds." All which is good in this universe, including us, start with God. With God as our foundation, the slings and arrows of this world are a bit easier to bear. We have already been known as "good" by our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. We don't have to worry if we are 'good enough', we have been claimed by G...