On being away and being filled.
As I'm sure you all know by now, I am having a second back surgery today (my guess is somewhere between 9 and 11 am). The short story is that one of my lower discs collapsed for an unknown reason. The surgeon is going to re-straighten the spine, add a spacer and some hardware to keep it all intact, and then we hope that takes care of the problem.
I spent Monday in the office tying up some loose ends, cleaning, and organizing. I also spent some time with Dcn. Sue as we discussed the next few weeks. She will be popping into the office to check on collections for the clothes drive, the book drive, the Blessings Box, and help address any immediate needs that come up.
She will also be shepherding two priests and one bishop in my absence. The Rev. Brandt Montgomery, Chaplain at St. James School, will officiate services on 8/8 and 8/29; the Rt. Rev. Robert Ihloff, Assisting Bishop, will officiate on 8/15; and the Rev. Scott Slater, Canon to the Ordinary, will officiate on 8/22.
I will return to the office on Monday, 8/30, and the Wednesday Word will return on 9/1.
The gospel readings for August will come from John (the Bread of Life series), Luke (the Magnificat), and Mark (a controversy over issues of purity). All of these have different areas of focus and all of these will have a particular take the the preacher will articulate. But since this is my last Wednesday Word until September, I wanted to give you something to consider over the next four weeks.
In the Bread of Life series, Jesus spends a lot of time telling people how he is the true bread from heaven and anyone who eats his body will have eternal life. On the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin, we will hear Mary sing the Magnificat, that beautiful and moving song that speaks of revolution in the name of God. And in the argument over purity, Jesus will call out hypocritical and deceitful behavior of the religious authorities.
In thinking on these things, it struck me that they all have a common thread of emptying and filling.
Jesus emptied himself so that we might be filled. Mary emptied herself so that she might accept God's call to bear the body of God incarnate. The song she sings, the Magnificat, is a song proclaiming the emptying of the world and its systems of inequality so that those on the margins might be filled. In the argument over purity, Jesus is asking us to empty ourselves of evil intentions, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, and folly, so that we might be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
As you move through the days of August, and while the Wednesday Word is on hiatus, take a moment to pause each day. In that pause, reflect on how you might empty yourself of those things which pull you away from the love of God and neighbor so that you and those around you may be filled with the good things of holiness.
As someone once said, “It is in the emptying of ourselves that we will be filled.”
Blessings,
