A Positively Poetic Priest

7/2/21 Our Heart's Devotion O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 9 BCP 230) "Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart..." The Collect for this coming Sunday reminds us that our full heart's devotion should rest in God. However, that is much much easier said than done. My heart can be fickle. Devoted to following God's will one moment and then solely focused on what I want the next. My heart can get caught up desiring attention and other's love at times, when I am called to devote myself to God's path instead. My heart fills up with envy or jealousy or hurt when it wanders away from being devoted to ...

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany BCP 216) "Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins..." It would be lovely if the way God set us free from the bondage of our sins was immediate and easy. However, my experience has taught me that God sets us free from the bondage of our sins after we have recognized what they are and have started acknowledging our complicity in them.  One of the biggest sins we have wrestled with in the United States in the last few years is the sin of racism. Despite decades of fighting for justice and equality, black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) are still held apart and held back by unjust systems. Despite decades of calling out these systems, white people have continued to uphold ...

 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...