"I think Blake has it right; I think he says it about as well as
anyone ever has: we are put here for love; to learn how to bear the
beams of love. And the double metaphor works well (he was William Blake,
after all):
Beams in the sense of timbers, as in a bridge or a roof. Heavy and
strong; and sometimes burdensome; and hard. And absolutely necessary;
without which the whole thing falls apart.
And beams in the sense of sunbeams, warming us; and warming us, perhaps,
too much for our own comfort sometimes. And life-giving. Indeed,
essential to life."
In yesterday's Word from Grace Street, Wallace+ writes about a phase coined by Anne Lamott to describe "those special people in all our lives who seem to know exactly how 'to
push our buttons.'"
"with that characteristically sassy wit of hers, Lamott assigns these
"special" people to a category she designates EGR, short for "Extra
Grace Required."
I first came across Lamott's EGR several years ago and haven't been
able to forget it. For one thing, we've got to be able to laugh
(particularly at our own hang-up's, pet peeves, etc.), and all the more
so when there is any risk that we might take ourselves too seriously."
Wallace+ goes on to share a couple of his own reflections on grace.
When on retreat recently, at the monastery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it was a pleasure and a blessing to hear our Presiding Bishop preach, in celebration of the patronal feast of the Society of St. John the Evangelist. Following is a link to that (very fine, and memorable) sermon.
He quotes two different ways of interpreting scripture and the Christian life, one is a fundamentalist approach and the other is rooted in modeling Christ's love. Both might describe themselves as 'simple,' but as the saying goes...
Specifically, Wallace+ quotes the following insight shared by U2 front man Bono during an interview with Michka Assayas:
"My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person
of Christ. Christ teaches that God is love. What does that mean? What it
means for me [is] a study of the life of Christ. Love here describes
itself as a child born in straw poverty, the most vulnerable situation
of all, without honor. I don't let my religious world get too
complicated. I just kind of go: Well, I think I know what God is. God is
love, and as much as I respond in allowing myself to be transformed by
that love and acting in that love, that's my religion."
For Bono, the key to understanding Scripture and, by extension, the key
to the Christian life, is the love of God as made known in the person
and life of Christ.
Goodness is stronger than evil.
Love is stronger than hate.
Light is stronger than darkness.
Life is stronger than death.
Victory is ours through him who loves us.
--Archbishop Desmond Tutu
"Any day is a good day to pray Archbishop Tutu's prayer. That said, with news of the murder at UVA, the attempted terrorist attack in Times Square, and the oil spill in the Gulf, perhaps this week his prayer is especially welcome. As is "A Prayer of Desmond Tutu," a new composition, by the English composer James Whitbourn..." ... read more.
NPR Reviews James Whitbourn's Celestial Sounds
Includes audio clips from "A Prayer of Desmond Tutu," including a prayer read by the archbishop.
Last week I was away, getting a little post-Easter-Day sabbath time in
South Carolina, where I took this snapshot of this small wild iris,
which is native to the southeast. When I asked my uncle the name of the
flower, he said, smiling, "You should know; you work for him."
It's an Iris Christata. How fitting that I would "meet" this flower in
Easter Week, and, no less, in the place where my spiritual rebirth
began, my uncle's home in the country, south of Columbia, "Wavering
Place."
A friend pointed out the beauty of the symmetry within the dysymmetry.
There's an Easter message for you.
Also, after the jump are several links from the week that I'd like to pass along,
followed by a snapshot I took in the Fan over this past weekend; all of
which, in their own way, relate to the beauty and hope of Easter. (Of
course, in truth, if Easter relates to anything, it relates to
everything.)
Pernessa Seele, Founder & CEO of The Balm in Gilead, sent a note of thanks to people of faith throughout Richmond who participated in the National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. I, in turn, share her note with all people of St. Paul's, thanking you for your prayers.
To My Family in Faith:
We greatly appreciate and sincerely thank you for your participation in the National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS (2010 NWPHA).
Because of the participation and enthusiasm generated by faith communities and organizations such as your own, NWPHA 2010 was a tremendous success. As a result of our combined efforts, over 20 million people throughout the United States received our message of prayer, education, advocacy and service for the healing of AIDS. Across the nation, communities were educated about HIV prevention and testing while encouraged to support the availability of compassionate care and treatment for those living with the disease; and to love unconditionally all persons affected by HIV/AIDS.
Click on 'read more' to continue reading her letter.
And, of course, this Christmas, tonight, and tomorrow, new memories are being made; a Carol sung, pure and exquisite; an old friend; warm, endearing words exchanged; a first Christmas for a new grandbaby; a candle lit, a face aglow, eyes agleam.
More than fifty times, in his published writings, Barth refers to the Grunewald image; and, indeed, usually, it is precisely in reference to John, and John’s relation to the figure of Christ; as he points.
Barth (and Grunewald before him) understood John’s sole purpose to be to serve as a pointer to Christ, a reference to Christ, a witness to Christ.
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Posted by Kimberly Allen
Posted by Wallace+
by Wallace+
Posted by Wallace+
