______________________Psalm 80: 14_
…look
down
from
heaven:
behold and tend this vine; preserve
what your right hand has planted.
Søren Kierkegaard
1813 - 1855
the Danish theologian & philosopher on the Luther-an calendar today, being Christian required a “leap of faith,” a decision one one’s own part, and was not a status not conferred by birth (In AA lingo, “God has no grandkids.”) Otherwise, what we have is “a species
of baptized paganism in which every respectable citizen could pass for a disciple. The problem was compounded by theologians who turned Christianity into a system of ideas.” (as it says in some
past year’s issue of the lovely monthly Give Us This Day) Perhaps this is no longer the case in post-Christian Ameri-ca where “being a Christian” is no longer necessarily a social advantage. Our old friend Verna Dozier, the Episco-pal theologian who saw the acceptance of Christianity by Constantine as a fall from grace, would no doubt see this
as a silver lining! Which
correlates well with our own saint du jour,
Charles Simeon
1759 - 1836,
while naominally a Christian, had a con-version experience in 1779 when he was preparing himself to receive Holy Communion, which was required of undergraduates at Cambridge. He wnt on to become a priest andhis faith influenced and enlivened the Church in his day. Our friend Bill Mahedy once said that the greatest proof of the Holy Spirit’s existence is that we have’t screwed this thing (the church) up entirely!
Oh loving God,
…all things are ordered by your unerring wisdom & unbounded love; Grant us in all things to see your hand, that… that we may walk with Christ in all simplicity, & serve you with a quiet & contented mind, through Jesus Christ our Lord…
Collect
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