Corpus Christi

Below is something I posted to my parishioners today on our parish elist. As I am still recovering from surgery I thought I would still get a bit of preaching in so they won't forget me. (How could they?).

Corpus Christi

In many parts of the Church Catholic, the Sunday after Trinity Sunday (today) is set aside as Corpus Christi – “The Body of Christ.”

During Holy Week we commemorate the institution of the Holy Eucharist – the giving of this special meal to the faithful.

On Corpus Christi we commemorate the centrality of this meal to the Christian experience. The key word here is experience.

As Anglicans, in particular, heavily influenced by Benedictine monasticism, we are much more a Church of Orthopraxis (right practice/worship) than a Church of Orthodoxy (right belief). To be a bit more accurate, what we believe is acted out in our worship and by extension carried out into the world as we live our day to day lives.

 Simply put, believing is not the end game for us. We can believe a lot of things: Jesus is God, he was resurrected, he came to reconcile the world to God – those kinds of things. But simply believing these things advances the kingdom not even a little bit.

Jesus spent most of his time telling us what to do – beginning with the Holy Eucharist.  At supper he tells his disciples, DO this in remembrance of me. Let your doing and re-doing of this meal be the sign and symbol of what you believe. MAKE me present with you. DO unto others; Whenever you do this for the least of my brothers and sisters you do it to me; GO Forth and make disciples. Heal the sick; preach the good news; We are to be doers of the word, not simply hearers.

 Ours is  - or should be an active faith. Our doing of our faith, enlivens our belief, which in turn can call us to new heights and depths of ministry.

The centrality of the Holy Eucharist – the importance of the command to “do this in remembrance of me” calls us to be at Christ’s table as often as possible. It is not an appetizer to whet our faith upon occasion. Nor is it “comfort food,” when we need a lift.  It is a call to action. A call to do, make, go, heal, preach, reconcile and love fiercely. “Be doers of the Word.” Show your belief in the king of kings, by doing those salvific acts of love, charity, and mercy that arise from taking, breaking and consuming Corpus Christi’ The Body of Christ.

The Saga continues

Day 9 in the recovery phase  - with slow progress and some weird side and sound effects. I am attempting to become "the patient who calls every day", but the doc's office does not answer quickly so I don't think they are biting/

Floors are done and beautiful. The folks at "All About Wood Floors" were meticulous. I love folks who take pride in their work. Sticker shock, however, from bids by others to paint a living room and a staircase. We are talking paint, not gold leaf - or even silver leaf.

I must be feeling better as my online shopping bug is getting stronger. So far am resisting, but I need to gt out of the house.  New meds have me wide awake at 2 a.m.  Last time I was awake post surgery and on drugs everyone almost received "Beni HanaKnife Sets" for Christmas. And now I have my credit card # memorized.

Well - you can see why I call this Meanderings.

Post-Op

Well - I hurt. More than I would like to or expect. Also I will be entering a photo of my back into the latest Kaleidoscopic color wheel competition.

I am not sure what I expected, but at least I'm breathing. Walk - the doctor says. Easy for him. Think I'll call him for a stroll around 2 am.
Anyway - more normal (?) stuff to come in a day or two. Prayers, incense, etc all still desired as you see fit.

Before I close this post, Blessings to Bill Emmons who passed away this past week. A unique human being. One of life's true innocents, unstained by the rampant cynicism of this world.

To say he "walked the walk" and "will be missed" is to trivialize his sojourn on this planet. Pray for him and for a dedicated and loving family with Frances at the helm. There is a hole in the universe this week.

Why not me?

Leslie and I have been talking about my back problems and upcoming surgery. And that of course brought up my several illnesses and surgeries over the years to include the scariest - prostate cancer in 2003 (I've been cancer free since my treatment, now going on 8 years).

A question many of us ask when confronted with bad things happening is, "why me." Surprisingly, I've always taken the position of, "why not me?"  Why would I be so special that illnesses and challenges and sometimes just bad luck, would be deflected? Leslie, who has had her own challenges in life (including me) has the same perspective.

The Gospel writer Matthew tells us that God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. It is not that both are equally deserving, rather where we are standing physically or morally, is not a factor on where and when it rains. Neither are any of us more deserving of good or bad things happening to us in the great scheme of things. Sometimes good people are caught in the crossfire and chaos that marks human existence. Often the truly evil pass through life unscathed by illness or bad fortune.

To ask, "why me?" implies that it really should be someone else. I never pray for hurricanes to be diverted from the town I live in, because it is really a wish that the hurricane will strike somewhere else. Why would Charleston be more deserving of destruction than Savannah? 

Now, don't get me wrong. I would rather not have the back problems I have. If I could wish them away I would. If the surgery doesn't help much or at all, I will be extremely disappointed, but I don't expect to be asking, "why me." That's nothing to pat myself on the back about. It's simply the reality that I deserve no more or no less than my fellow human beings. I can be thankful however to have the life that I have - with all of it's challenges and disappointments. Life is a gift - plain and simple. If the wrapping isn't always perfect, so be it. The gift itself is what counts.

Life in the Mass Lane

The title has nothing to do with this post - just needed a title.
Here I sit waiting not so anxiously about surgery next week. I have about had it with my lower back. If that hurts then every thing else is out of whack.
I cannot see how "House" got hooked on Vicodan. All it does to me is make me a drooling, drowsy, hulk sitting in a lounge chair. Could not even - charitably -call me a lounge lizard. This will be micro surgery they say. Home the same day and walking immediately. Doc says, "if you get up in the night, don't just go to the bathroom, do a lap around the house." Two stories - slick wooden stairs - aforementioned drooling drowsy hulk - yes and Oh By The Way - DARK!! Not sure I can get to the bathroom let alone "a lap around the house."

Another thing. With me convalescing there will be no one to protect my cara mia (the "my" is redundant there). from the "Invasion of the Palmetto Bug(s)". Not sure what has stirred them up this year, but they are frisky and frequent. Problem is the purveyors of roach (American Roach!!) poisons aren't really sure either. Maybe that's why they've been around since the stone age.

Well I will try to work in one more post pre-surgery. If you are of a mind to, a prayer would be great. Failing that a bit of incense offered up to the Deity would work well (Frankincense is liturgically proper don't you know).

Italian Lad says a Celtic Mass

Last evening I was invited to participate in the weekly Celtic Mass offered at Saint Paul's, Savannah. (Officially it's the Church of Saint Paul the Apostle, but it will always be St. Paul's to me). Anyway - Fr Liam Collins and some dedicated lay persons are the inspiration for this offering, which blends Celtic Spirituality with the beauty of the Prayer Book Liturgy.

We had almost 40 folks, and I was told that there are usually quite a few more. it is a diverse and eclectic group, which I found refreshing. I could only imagine the stories each person brought to the gathering. Celtic spirituality focuses on seeing God in the natural world around us (not in the sense of animism, but of the pervasiveness of God's love as exhibited in all of creation). it is marked by music - from the hymnal and from other sources with an obvious Celtic (Irish, Welsh Scottish and to an extent, English) flavor - think Spiritual pub songs(just kidding). There are lots of moments of silence which in this context was not awkward at all, as silence can often be.

It was good to be at Saint Paul's. A lot of my formation took place there and I was ordained Deacon and Priest (16 years apart) there. My old friends Omelia and Marsha and Sam were there so that was an added bonus. The scent of incense used often and well, is part of the ambiance of the place. It is a Holy Space - as the Celts would call it "a thin place" where heaven and earth are separated by only the thinnest and sheerest of curtains. Hope I get asked to participate again.

If you are looking for a different experience of liturgy and spirituality give the Celtic Mass a try: 6:30 pm every Sunday at Church of Saint Paul the Apostle, 34th and Abercorn Streets. (I would of course love to see you Sunday mornings at 9:30 am, at St George's Episcopal Church, White Bluff at Willow Road in Savannah).

Technology lol

I am sitting at my church office computer as I write this. Why - well because my high speed internet is not so high at the moment. Neither do my household phones work in any meaningful way - that is to say they are quieter than the proverbial church mouse.

Topping all that is the fact that my iphone carrier (ATT) gives me virtually no bars inside my home. Therefore I cannot accept calls on this alternate device - nor can I make calls without sitting outside (in the heat by day or amidst the Palmetto Bugs at night. Yes dear I know that whatever you call them they are still roaches. But they are "American" roaches!!).

So when can comcast (our sole provider of internet service that is fast enough to keep you from dozing between screen refreshes - when it works) come to the rescue? Monday between 11 and 2.  The folks in Jacksonville (yes that is where I was routed to along with Charlotte, NC) told me they would contact my region - Savannah - to see if they could expedite it.  Of course the Savannah region called my cell phone last night - but they could not hear me not hearing them. Lovely.

If the Parousia occurs this week (another fancy name for rapture - sort of) I expect I will not hear about it or be able to tell anyone else unless I am at my church computer. Not expecting that, but one never knows.