The Great Event of Salvation

by System Administrator -

 

November 1, 2024

Beloved of God, grace & peace to you!

The months seem to be rolling by ever so quickly; before we know it, we will have arrived at that season in the liturgical calendar, that I love most – Advent!

As I think about what Advent means – the aura of anticipation and longing that always seem to attend the season, I invite you to join me in a time of reflection, on some of the hymns of the season. Again, it may be a personal bias, but Advent hymns are among the most lyrically poetic, with haunting melodies that are at one and the same time sad and beautiful.

Join me, therefore, on the Mondays of Advent (December 2, 9, 16, & 23) when I shall share thoughts on the theology and spirituality of some of the hymns we sing during this special time, but perhaps without much thought given to the message behind the lyrics, and consequently, what we affirm by singing them. These reflections will be posted here, on this site, so be sure to visit often and to share your comments, questions, and thoughts, about what you read. I look forward to your presence and participation.

 I am inviting you also, to use this platform and/or our WhatsApp group, to share your thoughts on the dwindling numbers in congregations, across the diocese. What do you think for example of the fact that vocations to full-time ordained service, has for some time now, been on the decline. Does the Supplementary Ministry Training Program have a role to play in dealing with this very challenging issue; if so what is it, and if not, why? What images does the designation bi-vocational minister conjure up for you?

I look forward to reading your comments and recommendations. In the meantime, allow me to share words of wisdom for your further pondering, from…you guessed it, my favorite spirituality guru – the late Henri Nouwen.

   

The Great Event of Salvation

 

 

To live a life in the memory of Jesus Christ means first of all that that memory is a healing memory. How does the memory of Jesus Christ heal? The memory of Jesus Christ heals because it lifts up our small life and brings it in connection with a much larger event. As Christians, we are participating in a memory that goes far, far back to that great moment when God himself entered into history and shared the human condition. When our little history can be connected with the great history of salvation a tremendous change starts taking place because our little pains and our little joys are no longer just little pains and little joys but they point beyond themselves . . . to a great event of salvation of which we have become a part. . . . Our lives can be healed by the memory of the incarnation and the story of salvation.

 

Blessed love,

 

Grace+

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Opening to GOD

by System Administrator -

Beloved of God, grace, and peace to you!

It is once again my joy to welcome to our SMTP family, those who have joined us in recent months. I extend my sincere good wishes, upheld by prayers, for your continued opening to God, who not only calls, but who enables everyone so disposed, to live out their vocation with gladness and singleness of heart!

Opening to GOD, is the title of a book I have been reading for some time now. I find that increasingly, I am drawn to titles that offer the kind of multi-layered spiritual wisdom, which is difficult to appreciate let alone internalize in one, two, or even three, readings. They require careful, unhurried reflection and meditation, to allow for all that God, through the author[s], would have us receive and embrace. Such is this book by David Benner, who invites the reader on a journey of understanding Lectio Divina and Life as Prayer.

In the introduction, Benner makes a statement that I believe we all, at whatever stage of the ministerial spectrum we may fall, need to not only hear, but to take seriously to heart. He says:

“Prayer is not simply words that we offer when we speak to God but an opening of our self to God. Most of us live somewhere between the extremes of being completely closed to God and completely open. This is why I speak of opening. Opening implies not just a position but a direction – a direction of movement toward full openness.”

I hope you will take time this week…this month, to meditate on those words, especially the writer’s understanding of opening and its implications for you, as one with a vocation to serve God and God’s people.

As for me, at this stage of my ministerial journey, having begun some thirty-seven years ago, I find the idea of opening to be an invitation, challenging me to eschew thoughts and/or feelings of having achieved…having arrived at a point of personal satisfaction.

The fact that I am nearing retirement, with unique experiences that have served me well, is in light of eternity, only a few mileposts along the journey (see Psalm 90:4 cf. 2 Peter 3:8). The infinite nature of the Almighty in relation to the finiteness of the human mind and ways of being, must serve as a reminder that length of years do not indicate an end to such opening; in fact, it remains my experience that the older I become, the greater my need to be open to the intimate details of the divine will…to appreciate the apostle Paul’s statement, recorded in Philippians 1:21.

A quote from the late Lebanese American philosopher/poet, Khalil Gibran, comes to mind, and I share it below, in hope that you will meditate on its imagery and hopefully, the invitation to keep opening to God, in and by whom we can be transformed, from glory to glory.

“The river needs to take the risk of entering the ocean because only then will fear disappear because that’s where the river will know its not about disappearing into the ocean, but becoming the ocean.”

Blessed love,

Grace+

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