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 Last Sunday I attended church at SSJE (The Society of St. John the Evangelist) on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. I try to go once a month to worship with the brothers (Episcopal). Before the service the brothers are either preparing for their part in the service, or sitting quietly in preparation for worship. After the service we are welcomed to chat with one another and with the them. The brothers listen more than talk. They 'hear me,' they 'see me.'
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 The Rule of St. Benedict
In Chapter 13: The Celebration of Lauds on Ordinary Days, Benedict suggests the following psalms to be 'celebrated' as follows: Monday: Psalms 5 and 36 Tuesday: Psalms 43 and 57 Wednesday: Psalms 64-65 Thursday: Psalms 88 and 90 Friday: Psalms 76 and 92 Saturday: Psalm 43 Benedict's instructions are more complicated and nuanced, but this little schedule suits me fine as a way to start my day after I've settled in the Angel Room with a cup of coffee. I keep the list in the back of my Bible.  Every morning I write a scripture in a weekly calendar; at the end of the year I pass the calendar on to a friend. Often the same scripture appears year and after year; they are the 'oldies but goodies.' Others come are new ones that have caught in interest. I don’t just open the Bible, point to a verse, and write whatever it might be. Most come from my early mornings readings: The Bible and The Divine Hours: A Manual for Prayer, by Phyllis Tickle. There are three volumes, “Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime,” “Prayers for Springtime,” and “Prayers for Summertime.” The Bible readings include Psalms, Epistles, Gospel, and Hebrew Bible. I start at beginning, read through, and then back at the beginning. This morning I read: Psalm 35; Ephesians 3; Matthew 20; and finished up Exodus. I don’t always read an entire chapter at one sitting, nor do I read every chapter or book of the Hebrew Bible.  Peter Bruegel the Elder Today I am the Covenant Leader at my church. I share with you what I have written for this Epiphany Sunday.
The wise men came from another country. They saw peace shining from baby Jesus, from his mother Mary and from his father Joseph. The wise men saw there was another way. They wisely returned to their own country another way. That other way is still shining for us. It shines when we pray, when we consider the poor, the homeless, the depressed, the ill, the dying. It shines when we give thanks for our own shelter, our own joy, our own health, and a peaceful death. Lead us to be wise in our thoughts, words and deeds during this 2025 Epiphany time. When we pray, lead us to remember that you love every human on the planet, that you want each of us to be wise so that your will will be on earth as it is in heaven.  I just posted this on my cottagebythesea.net blog but want to include it here, because gratitude is such an important part of my faith practice--my morning prayer time. Gratitude gets me out of my ego. I'm grateful for all the blessings I have received. And that includes positive changes in thought, word or deed of mine.
Yesterday, December 31st, I wrote my last gratitude for 2024: #4252 "Jessie and Priscilla." I could have written 'good health, good sleep, good energy, good weather, but I didn't. I wrote the names of two good friends who had been in touch with me on my birthday, one through a letter, the other with flowers, and both by phone calls. Each of these friends are close to 30 years younger than I. I was a teacher to one, and a church friend to the other when she was a young mother. The number seven represents completion or perfection. I do my best to write 7 'gratitudes' each day. I miss some days, but I'm pretty consistent about this daily practice. Sometimes I have to think for a while, but when the list is complete, I know it is perfect.  Filippo Lippi December is a busy time for everyone. That's a fact. There is Christmas, Hannukah, and New Year's, with one or more of those for everyone. For me, so much that is personal is packed into those five plus days at the end of the year: Jesus' birthday on the 25th and mine on the 30th (with my wedding anniversary on the 28th).
As I look back on those December birthdays, I see that I was gifted some important life lessons. Early on I learned to say, "My birthday is five days after Christmas." Those were my words; that's how it was referred to by friends and family; that's how it is still identified; that's how I still say it. Deep in my heart, however, I have always known that Christmas is the favored December birthday to celebrate I have memories of wrapped presents under the tree, waiting to be unwrapped upon our return from church after we celebrated Jesus' birthday. We had been to the carol sing and candle light service on Christmas Eve, but today was Jesus 'actual birthday, and so mid-morning, off we went.( No discussion, no complaining allowed!) I am very grateful for that gift my parents gave me, not a gift to unwrap, but the gift of going to Jesus' party at church on the very day of his birthday. You might think that that is the end of my birthday story, but it isn't. Six years to the day, five days after Christmas, my sister Margot was born. I love sharing my birthday with her; no, not my birthday but our birthday. It has always been easy. After all, I had already learned to share with Jesus.  Jesus is very clear about judging; don't do it! I know that, but I do it anyway, even the obvious ways, such as gossiping. We can all find ourselves somewhere on the Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover. Good for Rockwell back in 1948 including both men and women, although the gossip starts and ends with a woman. (I think he did another cover with a man starting the rumor but I haven't found it yet.)
Little know fact: the woman starting the gossip is Rockwell's wife, Mary; the man chastising her at the end is Rockwell. Well known fact: Rockwell and Mary were kind, compassionate people. We all know about the kind of gossip depicted in this cover. But what about the gossip that remains only with us? We tell no one; we talk with no one about it. Instead it gnaws away in our mind, taking up huge amounts of space and time; we go over and over whatever it is we don't like about a person. Projection becomes rampant. And then…. Jesus steps in and walks with us and helps us turn from judgement to love. That's what I look for.  Take a glance at the beginning of St. Paul's epistles and you'll notices that he starts with a salutation expressing thanks and grace to the people to whom he is writing. Here are example from the first two epistles in the New Testament.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. Romans 1: 8 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus…. 1 Corinthians 1:4 I'm not planning to start my emails offering grace but what if I begin with 'Thank you'? No one would consider it strange. I think they would feel welcomed and invited in to consider whatever I had to say. I'm going to try it.  Consider the lilies of the field
That's all I'm considering right now, although Luke 6 has much to consider--Jesus telling us not to worry about our life, about today's or tomorrow's troubles. Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these (28, 29). When I consider the lilies of the field, I consider that they grow, grow without worrying, grow by being their natural selves with nothing added on; they don't try to be sunflowers much less worry about them. They are lilies. That's it. Yesterday, as I do most days, I walked up the street to the cemetery. I left a plant at the graveside of a teacher friend of mine. Mary Lou always had fresh flowers on her desk. She led a beautiful life being Mary Lou.  Peace Prayer
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console; To be understood, as to understand; To be loved, as to love; For it is in giving that we receive, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen. |
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