September 30, 2015

Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.
Ephesians 6:19

I wrote those words in the front of my BCP either while in seminary or shortly after arriving at my first call in Montana.  I honestly can't remember which, but it doesn't much matter, because I put them there as a reminder to me that preaching is a job I should always take seriously, that the gospel is a mystery, that the message should come from the leading of the Spirit, and that I need to proclaim that message boldly.  I haven't always lived up to that ideal, but I try.

There's another part to that verse that, while I haven't overlooked, needs to be considered, especially today and in the future – Pray for me.

I have been writing The Wednesday Word for a year now – the first official piece came out on September 24, 2014.  I have written about the words of the Desert Fathers, verses of scripture and other readings or sayings I have come across in that time.  I have been both surprised and humbled at the overwhelming positive response I have received from those who read these little musings.

But these “little musings,” originally intended for the parishioners and friends of St. Luke's, have led to something somewhat larger.  You may remember Fr. David Baumann, who attended for a time with his fiancee Elizabeth.  They since moved to Illinois where he is serving a small parish, but have chosen to remain on our e-mail list.  Fr. David is much more connected to the wider church than I, and that's where this gets interesting.

Through his connections, the people of The Living Church (TLC) reached out to him asking if he would be willing to be part of a new project and write a variety of meditations for their website.  He respectfully declined, but said, “I know a guy . . .”  That guy was me, and I was asked to be part a new writing project.  I had some questions and said I'd think about it.

The questions have been answered, I assented and I have been given my assignment.  I, along with a team of other writers, will be offering meditations on the Daily Office for the next several months.  My designated offerings will be during the weeks of November 15, January 10, March 6 and May 1.  TLC will, at some point, evaluate the project and then do one of three things:  fire us all and discontinue the project; continue the project and ask us all to keep writing; continue the project with a slate of different authors.  But for now, thanks to Fr. David, I will be writing for a larger audience than that of the parishioners and friends of St. Luke's.

As I begin to think about what this will look like and how I will turn my thoughts on the Daily Office into a meditation series for a much larger readership, the words of the prayer I prayed in the sacristy before services early in my ordained life, and up to today before large services, come to mind:  Please God, don't let me screw up.  Amen.

And now, as that process begins, I ask you to heed the words of Ephesians 6:19 – Pray also for me, so that when I write, a message may be given me to make known the mystery of the gospel.

Amen.