2/26/19
Beloved: Eleven eggs were in the hen house last evening, and the air smelled ever so springish this morning. It’s no good getting my hopes up, but I will anyway. However long a winter lasts, the earth can’t help coming back to life on her circuit back toward the sun. The Scotsman P.T. Forsyth wrote deceptively thin theology books a hundred years ago; but, with a bit of tweaking to his pronouns, his work is ever so prescient of now. He reads like Dr. King Jr., for one, and Richard Rohr as well. In his book on the atonement quoted here, he revived grace or, maybe, revived the church to recall grace. Grace and grace alone makes us who and what we are. Grace confirms that insofar as we are judged we are judged according to divine holiness, and the rule of holiness is love, divine love. Divine love took action toward humankind in the event of Jesus Christ, thus saying, love and not evil shall rule the day – for every day of human history, for every human being everywhere. All of which is just to say, Dr. Forsyth writes joyful theology. He is springtime to the soul and to the church, pointing us to the light and warmth and hope at the center of our faith. I pray this day allows you a new surprise of faith, one given or received. ~ peace & prayers, pastor annette
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Give to all who seek rest and refreshment in your shade fruits to their liking regardless of your own, and may each of your branches bear only marks of grace. ~ Jean Pierre de Caussade, The Sacrament of the Present Moment February 19, 2019
Beloved: The nuns to whom Father de Caussade wrote saved his letters and eventually published them in 1741, feeling sure they would be as much encouragement to others as they had been to them. I for one am so grateful that they did! Father de Caussade perceives God’s will as something everyday and common, toward which we merely need to turn ourselves in this present moment, trusting God is about God’s business and will use us as necessary, in ways we may or may not know. In the few dozen pages of the book, he mostly says the same thing a dozen different ways so that everyone might catch it, but every chapter spoke to me. I hear him say God’s business is just that, God’s, and we need not fret so much over our place in it. He likes the word “surrender,” as in when we surrender our souls, that is the giving up of our own agenda to make room for what God brings to the moment. Much of the book reads like prayer or poetry like the quote above. I love the image of us as trees, standing quietly together, our branches bearing marks of grace, for those who rest within our shade. I’ve chosen this little book as our Lenten devotional this year. New and used copies are available for about $10 online at www.christianbook.com and amazon.com. If you prefer to borrow a copy, let Pastor Annette know. Book discussions will begin in late March. I pray the day is gentle upon you, that you have a taste or glimpse of God’s goodness. ~peace & prayers, pastor annette PS - Three cheers for Greg T. for discovering that our Lenten devotional book, published also under the title Abandonment to Divine Providence, is available online for free in multiple formats. Here is the link: https://www.ccel.org/ccel/decaussade/abandonment.html . February 12, 2019
Beloved: Friends I know are worried and afraid today – for loved ones who are very sick. Others are sick themselves, and some grieve great loss. Marriages that are shaking and employment that strips away integrity leave some people exhausted and discouraged. The weather is terrible and the news is worse. Is there a good word anywhere? Everything is grace . . . says Henri Nouwen in his book Spiritual Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit. The movement from resentment to gratitude is a spiritual one, formed in persistently chosen ways of thinking, doing, being. Resentment is anger grown cold and hard around the heart, a worldview laced with suspicion and sprinkled with despair – while gratitude recognizes grace, even in our most miserable moments. Were it not for love, would grief be so hard to bear? That is grace. Were it not for peace, would violence tear at us so? That is grace. Joy and suffering are made of all one thing. It is grace. It is grace. Everything is grace. For in everything God is with us, and we can know it when we find the inner quiet to be still and live in each moment at a time. Everything is grace. ~peace & prayers, pastor annette |
I write a Tuesday morning devotional to members and friends of UBC. It is also posted here.
Enjoy! Pastor Annette Copyright
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