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Dear People of St. Paul's,
Over the course of this last week, I have kept returning in conversation with many of you and in personal reflection to the story David von Drehle told about Charlie's family finding, upon his death, a full page of 3 or 4 word sayings that Charlie kept. Phrases like: ask forgiveness and forgive, take risks, learn, enjoy the beauty of the world or listen to the rain, and be soft sometimes. I was moved by this not because of the phrases, but by the idea that a 109 year old would need such reminders.
It stands to reason that he would have mastered these ideas over 109 years of practice. In so many things in life we often say "practice makes perfect." And yet he always found himself returning to them—in fact, needing to return to them. He found himself forgetting the simple things, the lessons he was taught from a young age, the skills he had learned long ago. He found that life's complexity got in the way of the simple (and often best) bits of living a life well.
I think the same is true with our faith life. Simplifying often is the exact spiritual practice we are invited to. When we are worried that there won't be enough, we remember the thousands of loaves and fish that came from nowhere and return to God's abundance. When we become overwhelmed with despair or worry, we remember that the tomb was found empty. When we think we have surely messed up too much this time, we remember the son's return to the father who joyfully proclaims "my [child] is alive again."
I wonder if the pace of life for you in this season might need to be slowed and simplified. I wonder how you might cultivate a simple practice to cultivate this simplification each day. Perhaps 5 minutes to stop and give thanks to God before you start your day or at it ends. Perhaps its stepping away from your desk in the middle of your day to become aware of God's presence with you and love for you. Perhaps its something else entirely. No matter what it is, may we all continue to daily find time with God whose sure and certain promise is to be near to us, with us, and among us each and every moment of each and every day.
Fr. Steven
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