a life in formation
Today is the feast day for Saint Gregory of Nyssa. I posted this last year: March 9, 2009
One of the more interesting church’s in the Episcopal Church is St. Gregory of Nyssa Church in San Francisco.
It is a church that experiments with liturgy, has a vibrant outreach in the community, and understands that art and creative expression are essential to the faith.
Here is a write up on Saint Gregory from the Church: About St. Gregory of Nyssa, Our Patron>>>
Almighty and everlasting God, you made the universe with all its marvelous order, its atoms, worlds, and galaxies, and the infinite complexity of living creatures: Grant that, as we probe the mysteries of your creation, we may come to know you more truly, and more surely fulfill our role in your eternal purpose; in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
From today’s Evening Prayer
He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’ (Mark 4:30-32)
This was part of the Gospel from today’s Morning Prayer. The Gospels are full of seed and plant parables. Jesus was attuned to his surroundings. Go figure.
Centuries later, even though our surroundings may be different, we should be well aware that the Christian life is about growth and health. Kingdom living is about taking the small stuff of life, nurturing it, and watching it grow into something greater than expected.
In the past few years, I have tried to be faithful in a few small things:
It may not seem like much, but I feel growth taking place.
I grew up in the Methodist tradition. I was confirmed as a United Methodist in a county seat church in Alabama.
We used the old service from the 1964 hymnal. The prayers for communion, even though we only celebrated it 4 times per year, were much like Rite I in the 1979 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.
My old choir sang refrains and service settings that are still in the 1982 Episcopal Hymnal. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had some excellent training for the Episcopal Church.
I continued my education in a United Methodist seminary, and was ordained in the Methodist tradition. We spoke of the Wesley’s frequently, but I never identified with them. Until recently.
It was in the Episcopal Church where I rediscovered the Wesley’s and began to understand them.
United Methodist worship, for the most part, is not ordered and disciplined like John and Charles were. You can visit three different congregations in the same town, and you would be treated to three different styles of worship, three different sermon texts (depending on the use of the lectionary in those churches), and three churches that may or may not take the sacraments seriously.
In my Episcopal immersion, I have found more Wesley than I ever expected. The hymnal is full of Wesley tunes. The prayerbook is full of prayers and documents that were used during the Wesley’s day, and the discipline and order of the Daily Office and Eucharistic rites speak Wesley to me.
Today, on the Episcopal calendar is the Feast Day for John and Charles Wesley.
Here are some resources for the day:
Collect
Lord God, you inspired your servants John and Charles Wesley with burning zeal for the sanctification of souls, and endowed them with eloquence in speech and song; Kindle in your Church, we entreat you, such fervor, that those whose faith has cooled may be warmed, and those who have not known Christ may turn to him and be saved; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
A good story from the sanctoral calendar.
Saint Chad, Bishop of Litchfield, almost better known for not being the Archbishop of York.
Collect for the Day:
Almighty God, whose servant Chad, for the peace of the Church, relinquished cheerfully the honors that had been thrust upon him, only to be rewarded with equal responsibility: Keep us, we pray, from thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, and ready at all times to step aside for others, (in honor preferring one another,) that the cause of Christ may be advanced; in the name of him who washed his disciples’ feet, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
This was the Daily Reflection from the writings of Thomas Merton yesterday.
It was an important thought for me:
Let my trust be in Your mercy, not in myself. Let my hope be in Your love, not in health, or strength, or ability or human resources.
If I trust You, everything else will become, for me, strength, health, and support. Everything will bring me to heaven. If I do not trust You, everything will be my destruction.
Merton, Thomas. Thoughts in Solitude. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999. p 29-30