From the Rector’s Study

French poet, Victor Hugo, said “Conscience is God present in Man.” Every one of us wants to make right choices, we want to do the right things, and we hope for positive outcomes in the decisions that we make, and,
as believers, we ultimately want to please God.

We all know the saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” Or, to put it another way, we tend to value things that are unknown, mysterious, or rare. Take, for example, all the attention we give to a solar eclipse. This past April 8th was the event of the year in Eastern Ontario.

The way forward and the value of touch. The value of touch for healing and in our everyday lives as well. It was Ann Landers who said we need eight hugs a day for maintenance 12 or more for growth, if I remember correctly. So much for that during COVID. This is important. I lay my hands upon you in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, beseeching him to uphold you and fill you with his grace, that you may know the healing power of his love. Amen.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We all grew up to follow this mantra that we know as The Golden Rule: It is a unique law of reciprocity centred round the general principle of treating others as one wants to be treated.

The small becomes big and not with us doing anything about it. But recognizing what is happening men taking our part. The use of parables; in reality I am a storyteller who would ask the question often
answered with a story.

There seem to be two questions regarding the passage in Mark today. Jesus talking about the unforgivable sin, and whoever does the will of God is family. I am guessing I am not the only one with discomfort around these two issues.

Jesus taking food to eat and healing on the Sabbath. The phrase that sums it all up from Jesus the Sabbath is for humankind not humankind for the Sabbath. It seems to me that the value of the Sabbath is being lost in this day and age. It’s losing its significance and its value. Jesus saying what he says does not take away from the value of the Sabbath although that’s the impression one can get from his phrase.

I heard a long time ago a way of understanding God as three in one. It is like a cherry pie. When you cut it into pieces, you can definitely see the cut in the crust which separates the pieces, but when you look inside you see the cherries and the juices all flowing together. Both separate and one.

A kindergarten teacher was observing the children in her classroom while they were drawing pictures. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s artwork. As she came to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, “I’m drawing God.” The teacher paused and said, “But no one knows what God looks like.” Taking a deep breath and concentrating on her drawing, the girl replied, “They will in a minute.”