Read the Psalms!

From the Daily Office this morning, Psalm 1.  The book of Begins with "Happy are they,"...I would say that "Happy are they who read the Psalms."  And the long monastic tradition seems to have agreed with this sentiment.  Monks and nuns prayed through the psalms in corporate worship very very quickly - within a few days.  If you visit a monastery or convent today even for a few days, you will get a fair dose of the Psalms.  A bishop I know said over and over that "the Psalms were Jesus's prayer book."  And they were on his lips often.

So, Read the Psalms!

Start with Psalm 1, which we read today in Morning Prayer.

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

• Psalm 1
• Beatus vir qui non abiit

¹ Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, *

nor lingered in the way of sinners,

nor sat in the seats of the scornful!

² Their delight is in the law of the LORD, *

and they meditate on his law day and night.

³ They are like trees planted by streams of water,

bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; *

everything they do shall prosper.

⁴ It is not so with the wicked; *

they are like chaff which the wind blows away.

⁵ Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes, *

nor the sinner in the council of the righteous.

⁶ For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, *

but the way of the wicked is doomed.

Shrine Mont soon!!

I'm looking forward to going up to Shrine Mont for our parish retreat in just a few weeks.  Shrine Mont is the conference center of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia and a wonderful place.

Can't wait!!

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

The downside of Luke 10

I think the downside of Jesus "breaking the Law" by healing on the Sabbath in Luke 13:10-17 is that it gives some justification for our modern / post-modern total disregard for sabbathkeeping.  The upside of this passage is that Jesus is not going to be hemmed in by silly requirements, he's not going to refuse healing for one who suffered for 18 years just to placate some religious professionals who were too caught up in the minutia of religious requirements.

However, don't think that Jesus didn't believe in Sabbath!  He certainly did, and certainly believed that rest and turning toward God was essential for living the abundant life.  Going to pray, taking time away, getting out to the desert were all essential and core experiences for Jesus.  These were not mere "breaks" from lots of teaching and healing and proclaiming, nope.  These were the core, the heart, the guts, the skeleton of his very life and ministry.  Are they are the core of ours?  Were they are the core of the religious nitwits of his time?  Probably not.

So, yes!  Get busy healing, and if you need to heal and do ministry in violation of some silly nitwits, do it.  However, at the core of our life should not be earthly treasures (remember the readings just recently), but rather, our core should be in turning to God, and in prayer, rest, Sabbath, and penitance.  From there, and there alone can our ministry emerge full and abundant.

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Luke 13:10-17

¹⁰Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. ¹¹And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” ¹³When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. ¹⁴But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” ¹⁵But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? ¹⁶And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” ¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Quotes - Memes

Santos Woodcarving Popsicles...

Visited Chimayo, New Mexico today, and visited the wonderful shop that was the inspiration for this blog. Along the way, took some photos of Chimayo and a brief video.  I will be posting them soon.  We even ate some popsicles from the shop, and bought a few things.  Here's the original description of "Santos Woodcarving Popsicles" from 2007...

The inspiration for this blog came from the photo that was taken at Chimayo, New Mexico in front of a shop. What I really love about this sign is that these three items are not expected to be advertised together, they point to the holy, but also to the everyday, and make no excuses for the everyday and the holy merged and unified.

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey