ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
July 1, 2022
Today is the birthday of one of my two favorite sisters. Ok, I only have two sisters, and they are both amazing. Today is Bev’s birthday. Beverly is one of the most kind and compassionate people I know, while also refusing to be quiet in the face of injustice or acts of mean-spiritedness. I give thanks for how she educates herself and seeks to understand the complexity of an issue before jumping into any discussion. Proverbs 18 says, “Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips endure forever…” We live in a world where people spout-off too easily, reacting from a lack of knowledge or fear or both. The outcome of such reactions is never good. Today, we live in a world with too little thoughtfulness and too much pontificating. I am writing those words, not only for others, but for myself as well. I have been known to speak before I understood the fullness of an issue. In the second chapter of Luke’s Gospel, we find the young Jesus growing in wisdom and perceptiveness. May we all be on a journey where we are cultivating wisdom and developing our capacity to truly perceive.
O Divine Spirit, O Holy Breath, provide me with the capacity to pause, to ask good questions, and to respond to situations with more than my own anxieties and insecurities. Amen.
