A decade ago, I took a year-long discernment class. A few things from that class have stayed with me: the excellent reading list, the respect with which the clergy leader spoke of lay ministry, and this advice: Be in the habit of praying the daily offices, because when you suddenly need them, they will carry you.
The truth is, I dip in and out of the practice, but in the last week, I've been so grateful to know where to find a life raft. The weeks following this election have been more frightening than 9/11 ever seemed to me. In the last month I've had mouth ulcers, my first major migraine in a decade, and my normal cycle is now over a month late (yes I saw a doctor, no I'm not expecting). Messages about unity and how the side that loses is always disappointed haven't come close to speaking to me (have in fact offended me).
On Sunday, I picked up my trusty Daily Offices. This Sunday, I'll switch to Year 1 as we begin Advent, the new church year, the season when we are alert with expectation for Godliness and Goodness that is not here yet. I don't have my own words to pray this month, but I am being fortified by the psalms and canticles of generations who also knew that the world they walked in was both holy and insufficient.
Sermon for February 16, 2025
19 hours ago
No comments:
Post a Comment
"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."
-Saint Molly Ivins