A Positively Poetic Priest

Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany BCP 215) Sometimes we human beings are none too subtle. Take this prayer for this coming Sunday for example. We pray for God, who we admit is in control of all things, to hear our prayers and grant us peace. Yet, we don't just ask for God's peace when we are dead or when God feels is best for us, we ask for God to grant us peace in our time. We recognize the reality that God's time and our human time don't always line up, and we really need peace in our time, not just God's time.  It is not a subtlety to say that we need peace in our time though. We desperately need God's peace in many ways. As many of us are facing the long effects of uncertainty an...

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Third Sunday after the Epiphany BCP 215) Its never just one thing with God. Even the prayer for this coming Sunday asks us to answer Jesus' call and proclaim the Good News. It seems Jesus was telling the truth when he suggested that God wants all of us. Not just for us to do one thing here and there. God wants us to participate fully in God's kingdom, today and everyday. This coming Sunday is St. John's Annual Meeting. We will gather on Zoom at 9 am to listen and discuss the past, present, and future of St. John's life of ministry in Franklin. Participating in this Sunday's Annual Meeting is both an answer to Jesus' call and a proclamation of the Good News. We gather tog...

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Second Sunday after the Epiphany BCP 215) "If one has courage, nothing can dim the light which shines from within." - Dr. Maya Angelou. We all know that in darkness, even a dim light can shine brightly. Every time the stars come out and create shadows on the ground, I am reminded how strong light can be in the darkness. In our strange and difficult days, even the smallest of our courageous actions shines light into the world. The world needs every one of our small courageous actions. Earlier this week, Bishop Sean shared a letter (you can find it on our Facebook page) from a group of Episcopal Bishops callin...

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of our Lord BCP 214) The First Sunday after the Epiphany is always the remembrance of Jesus' baptism and the start of Jesus' ministry. When we gather online, we will renew our own baptismal covenant in the words of the Apostle's Creed and the additional vows. For many of us, these words were first said over us by our parents and godparents on our behalf. Later in life, we accepted this covenant on our own through confirmation or reaffirmation.  The Baptismal covenant, though certainly the most important in the eyes of the church, is not the only covenant we make in our lives. In our ...

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Second Sunday after Christmas Day BCP 214) "The dignity of human nature." God both created and restored the dignity of human nature by coming to live among us as a human being. Dignity is one thing I have kept my eye on this past year, trying to make sure, in the ways that I am able, despite the continuing crises, that dignity for all people was not forgotten in our little corner of the world. Jesus, as a child and later as a man in ministry, recognizes everyone dignity and shows that regard throughout his interactions.  This has been a hard year, and many times has allowed people in power to overlook the dignity of other human beings. Thankfully our hope is not in the peop...

O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that we, who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (The Nativity of Our Lord: Christmas Day BCP 212) For most of us this year, it has been the little thing getting us through. The days in the sun, laughing at bad jokes and memes, dreaming up shenanigans with friends. Everywhere we look there are frustrations and restrictions threatening to depress and defeat us. Thankfully, our yearly festival of Jesus' birth comes around again. While it will not look like it has in years past, it is still a reason to rejoice.  In all our struggles and humanity, God comes to us. This is no little thing. This is one of the resounding truths of our God. God is with us through every struggle. No matter how hard, how frustrating, how devastating, God is in th...

Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Fourth Sunday of Advent BCP 212) Daily visitation! God visits us daily!? Unfortunately, while we notice when the stray cat visits us daily, I am not sure all of us notice God's daily visit. Thankfully, like the cat that comes back, God always does come to visit us daily. Our daily visitation from God happens whether or not we notice. God visits us because God loves us. However, when we do notice, that is when our spiritual lives start growing.  For some of us, noticing God on a daily basis in our lives is an old practice. It is a habit and a visitation which gives shape and meaning to our lives. For some of us though, noticing God in our lives is one of those things that lives on our to-do lists that somehow never gets crossed off. Des...