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For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
1 John 11
Growing up, one of my main influences in the church was Fr Christopher Morley. Fr Morley was a Benedictine monk and part of the Order of the Holy Cross in the Episcopal church. He didn’t own a car and could be frequently seen walking down Brainerd Road in his cassock, going back from church to his residence. He served our congregation as a supply priest and my favourite Sundays were the ones when he was serving because he just shined with love and compassion. Everyone was referred to as ‘beloved’ and he had unlimited patience with a certain seven year old who was filled with endless questions.
Fr Morley continues to be the platonic ideal of a priest for me and he is someone whose love of Christ and whose of people is still an inspiration. He stood by my family when my grandmother died very young and helped us through a very difficult time. Fr Morley helped me understand what it meant to show Christ to others through our simple presence and I am perpetually grateful to have known him.
God of love, you sent your son to show us what it means to truly love one another and we pray that we might be able to love others as you love us. Help us to show Christ to others through our thoughts, our words, and our deeds and empower us to love all people whom we encounter. We pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.
Pastor Jonathan Trapp
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