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Pastor Annette's Blog

"OF ALL THE THINGS GOD HAS SHOWN ME, I CAN SPEAK BUT A LITTLE WORD . . . NOT MORE THAN A HONEYBEE CAN CARRY AWAY ON ITS FOOT FROM AN OVERFLOWING JAR."
~ MECHTHILD OF MAGDEBURG, 13TH CENTURY MYSTIC

A Quotidian Mystery

7/24/2018

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July 24, 2018

Beloved:
    I was just now washing dishes, watching steam rise through the sunshine that pours through my kitchen windows in the morning, and I thought what a miracle hot water is.  As much as I want, straight from the tap.  We have not one but TWO water heaters in our house so that my kitchen and laundry rooms can have their own, a shameful luxury my grandma would have thought absurd.  My parents too, for that matter.
Picture
    The struggle to enjoy my house without loving it too much is something of a quandary; a quotidian mystery, Kathleen Norris calls it.  The great privilege of having things and the great responsibility to have them rightly.  The ease with which we slip into assuming we have earned them, suggesting people with less haven’t worked as hard.  The terrible sin of complaining about their upkeep – the time, the money, the energy – as if we are somehow beset with trouble for having a roof that needs replacing.

    This world is our poorest teacher when it comes to what we need.  Prayer is our only hope.  Father Richard writes that
the only person who prays well is the person who prays often.*   I’m trying and mostly failing to learn not to pray from my belly or my brain, from what my body and my feelings say I need.  Mostly they don’t know.  Mostly anxiety, fear and boredom are telling them what to say.  “You are fine,” the Spirit says, another voice to whom I can choose to listen . . . and believe, should I choose to live by the faith I claim I do.

    All that we possess is so much less than the spirit of God within and among us even now.  Knowing so and living so are nothing like the same.  Only living so brings about the greater graces of our faith, namely peace.  Peace with our place in the world.  Peace in our relationship with others.  Peace with our possessions.  So easily said, while the practice takes a lifetime.  I wish you much courage on this day of our journey. 

~ peace & prayers,
pastor annette

*Richard Rohr,
Simplicity; The Freedom of Letting Go,  (Crossroads Publishing: New York, 1991), p. 100.
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    I write a Tuesday morning devotional to members and friends of UBC.  It is also posted here. 
     
    Enjoy!  
    Pastor Annette

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    Everything on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons license, which gives you permission to copy freely, provided that you attribute the work to me, that you use the work for non-commercial purposes, and that you do not produce derivative works.

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Bloomington, IN 47401
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  • Home
  • Start Here
  • Staff
    • Annette Hill Briggs, Pastor
    • Rob Drummond ~ Music Minister
  • Listen & Read
    • Sermons
    • Pastor's Blog
    • #ITSYOURCHURCHTOO >
      • About >
        • When & Where?
        • Ministries >
          • Worship >
            • Music
            • Worship Arts
            • Worship Resources
          • Fellowship >
            • Wednesday Night Supper
            • Church Recipes
          • Service >
            • MCUM Collections
            • Habitat for Humanity Project
          • Vacation Bible School
        • Our Story >
          • Denomination
          • Who We Are
        • Contact
        • Calendar
    • Social Media Feed
  • Give
  • Newsletter
  • Recommended Reading