Week of 6 Epiphany, Wednesday

The psalmist complains this morning about his accuser (109:17-18):

He put on cursing like a garment,*
      let it soak into his body like water
      and into his bones like oil;

Let it be to him like the cloak which he
           wraps around himself, *
      and like the belt that he wears continually.

I hope that in your practice of daily prayer (perhaps using the Daily Office), you will instead put on *Scripture* like a garment, that the living Word will soak into your body like water and into your bones like oil.

Perhaps over time you will find the weekly rhythms of the canticles and the seasonal themes of the collects wrapping around you like a new garment.

The Royal Wedding



Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge smile
following their marriage at Westminster Abbey. Photo: GETTY

As an Anglophile and liturgy geek, I naturally made a pot of tea and tuned in to the live coverage of the Royal Wedding this morning.

One of the glories of the Anglican tradition is its Book of Common Prayer -- the wedding service that William and Catherine participated in today is the same that every couple participates in. We all make the same vows "in the sight of God and in the face of this congregation."

The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, made that same connection in his sermon. "In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and the groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future."

"Faithful and committed relationships," he added, "offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life."

The Bishop of London's Sermon at the Royal Wedding

God grant that Catherine and William, and every "royal couple" everywhere, will enjoy -- and share! -- the fruits of their faithfulness and commitment. That generous self-offering will indeed "set the world on fire."

If You Have ....

I'm not sure of the original source of this image, but I heartily agree with its message.

See the General Thanksgiving in the service of Morning Prayer:

And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,

that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,

not only with our lips, but in our lives,

by giving up our selves to your service,

and by walking before you

in holiness and righteousness all our days. (BCP 101)

If you have ... then you are truly fortunate. If you have ... share.

The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, or Super Bowl Sunday

"Let us also lay aside every weight
and the sin that clings so closely,
and let us run with perseverance
the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1).

Not to make more of a morality play of the Super Bowl than the already over-hyped commentary has, but in today's spectacle we see the importance of the single-minded attention that the Letter to the Hebrews commends.

Aaron Rodgers has to lay aside the weight of expectation that has been on his shoulders since he replaced Brett Favre as the Packers' quarterback, the kind of weight that drags on you when you need to be quick, that causes you to second-guess yourself when you need to make snap decisions and follow through.

Ben Roethlisberger has to lay aside "the sin that clings so closely," letting the clamor of judgment about his past behavior (as justified as it may be) fade into the background so he can focus on the prize before him.

And so it is with us -- what burden are you carrying that you need to lay aside? What frustration, disappointment, guilt, or resentment do you need to let go of in order to be free to run?

What sin tangles you up every time you try to start a race? What habits, preoccupations, or judgments keep you from a relaxed and easy stride?

Now, for us the prize and focus of our attention is not the Lombardi Trophy (though at our Super Bowl parties this afternoon it will naturally consume our thoughts) but Jesus, "the pioneer and perfecter of our faith" (Heb. 12:2).

"Consider him who endured such hostility from sinners," the writer of Hebrews tells us, "so that you may not grow weary or lose heart" (Heb. 12:3).

Jesus is the one who stayed true to his calling and mission, "who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of God" (Heb. 12:2). As the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, his is the example we are to follow, his triumph is the goal we pursue, his endurance is the characteristic we emulate.

Though I may be wearing a jersey with the number 12 on it this afternoon and you (can it be true?) may wear one with a number 7, let's not forget that we are both running in the same race, the one in which we win by "outdoing one another in showing honor" (Romans 12:10).

And with God's help, we will not only win, but through our lives we will help others to turn their eyes toward Jesus and the victory he has already won for us.

Ordination Anniversary

"He having promised to make Christ's redemptive love known ..."

Fifteen years ago today, Bishop Frank Griswold ordained me and six others to the diaconate at St. James Cathedral in Chicago.

Because Katrin and I had moved to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin six months earlier, I have never officially served as a deacon in the Diocese of Chicago -- all of my parish assignments have been in Wisconsin.

However, I worked in downtown Chicago until five years ago, so I was constantly "across the border" from the parishes I served. Now that my travels for work take me all over the country, I'm fortunate to be able to keep up with clergy colleagues and parishioners during the week through email, Facebook, and this blog.

But the Word become flesh is too intimate a truth to be preached from a distance, and I treasure every one of the people I have come to know in the five parishes I have served so far.

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Milwaukee

Church of the Holy Communion, Lake Geneva

St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Whitewater

St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Racine

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Menasha



Reading the Gospel at St. Thomas, Advent 2010

I also treasure the people I have known who are responding to God's call to serve as deacons and who have been my students in the Deacons' School over the years. Their enthusiasm and questions keep me connected to the roots of my own calling, to the baptismal ministry we all share in Christ.

The last 15 years have taken me to places I would not have imagined. Here's to what the next 15 will hold!

May the Lord by his grace uphold me -- and you! -- in the service he lays upon us. Amen.

2 Epiphany, Monday

Daily Office Support Group

Four of us met this morning in the chapel at St. Thomas for Morning Prayer and a conversation about the practice of the Daily Office.

The structure of the Office is bewildering at first, so we started with bookmarks so that we could all find the Daily Office lectionary, the Collects, the psalms, the table of canticles, and all the other material that the Office requires.

As we prayed through a sort of "Instructed Morning Prayer," we talked a bit about the shape of the Office:

The Invitatory and Psalter

The Lessons

The Prayers

All the page-turning back and forth through the Book of Common Prayer can obscure that relatively simple pattern -- praying psalms, reading portions of Scripture and responding with canticles, and praying the three Collects that give the flavor of each specific day.

Handouts and discussion may have helped; we'll see what everyone's experience is as they try Morning Prayer on their own this week.

Here's to the three plucky members of the Daily Office Support Group who are diving in to this new practice!

Second Sunday after the Epiphany

The Epistle appointed for this morning reminds us that in God's promises "we have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul" (Heb. 6:19).

Please pray for the people of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Menasha, WI -- my new parish -- as we begin to practice the Daily Office together in this Epiphany season.

Our "Daily Office Support Group" will say Morning Prayer together at the church on Mondays beginning tomorrow. Each week, we will also have some instruction in how to incorporate the Daily Office into our personal prayer lives.

As we sing God's praises, may we take to heart God's promises and build one another up in hope.