Brian’s Reflection: The Weekend_July 25, 2009

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong,
nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as
our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not
the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Collect for the Sunday nearest July 27, Book of Common Prayer [Proper 12 b]


Let’s “deconstruct” this Collect.

First: How does “God” protect us? As always, it’s a matter of Faith – all those principles deeply lodged in our core and by which we live. Bottom line, God does not protect us from the realities of Life, from the common cold, to death, to financial stress, to breakups of marriage/relationships, to cancer, etc., etc., etc. God is not in the business of turning the norms of mortal Life upside down. What God IS in the business of is liberation. Faith allows us to sit easily with out mortality, grounds us in making the utmost of every minute, frees us to hang in to every minute of Life’s wonder while depriving Fear of it’s power to kill.

Second: strength and holiness constitute the Mystery of the Being of Creation which infuses us and all things. Without this, we are indeed weak.

Third: “Divine Mercy” is not some condescension, a forgiveness of our patheticness. Oh no. Divine Mercy is a flooding in of power, lifting us above an impoverished self-understanding.

Fourth: God does not (IMHO) “rule” us. God is not our tyrant, our slave-master, our “Lord” in the feudal sense. But God IS our Guide. We know the essence of God is Love. When Love “rules”, we find freedom in selfless service, we are guided along the paths of unity with all things.

Fifth: This Life is not a game of skillful avoidance, by which, if careful, we can sneak through unnoticed to a better Life “beyond”. No. All Life is parallel realities. The principles are the same for all.

Be fully fed for Life; there is no lack. This is the message of Jesus feeding the 5000.

Brian+