nativity eve

According to the Book of Common Prayer, the eve of The Nativity of our Lord is a vigil that is also a day of fasting and abstinence. So what does that mean? Glad you asked.

I am not sure if there is an official definition of the terms. For me, it means that no full meal or meat before First Evensong. So, in reality, I do not eat before Evensong. And, to be honest, that is not a huge thing. But it reminds me that the wood of the manger is also the wood of the cross.

First Evensong, according to Ritual Notes, should not be said before 2:00 pm.

So, blessing Vigil!!!!

institutionalism

What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

Luke 15:4

God leaves the institution to find the individual. Do I escape into the institution to ignore the individual? What happens when people do not fit into my “box”?

What do the “99” think of the “1”?

Day 7 – all good

So, I tested again this morning, and I am all clear. Back to normal – or not!?

I said Morning Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer this morning in my chapel. I forgot how meaningful (to me!) the words and actions are. A very blessed start to the day. No insight – apart from the Melbourne Stars are a really bad T20 side. I will need to shop today for some food, but I might wait.

Blessed Feast of S. Thomas, Ember Saturday in Advent, and Summer Solstice.

Day 6 – recovery?

Day 6, and I think I am back to normal – whatever that may mean. I am unsure what I did yesterday – did I read or dance? Anyway, here is a thought for the day.

During this version of a COVID lockdown, I learned that I have an issue with “the church” as a whole and not individuals. Yes, that sounds like Kierkegaard and maybe he is the driving force in my thinking. And the problem is not the institution but rather the emphasis people place on the institution. The modern church has replaced the individual before God with a collection of congregational members called to follow a faceless organisation. There is no accountability to God for my actions but rather an urging to conform. In more philosophical terms, I wonder if the modern world, post-scientific revolution, is stuck in actuality. And the institution of the “church” is living without hope.

Anyway! Maybe a fever-induced hallucination?

read and dance

Daily writing prompt
What was the last thing you did for play or fun?
View all responses

I want to say, sleep. But that is a little boring and, in my case, predictable.

I read Kafka’s The Castle – that was super fun. It made me laugh, wonder, and cry. It was an escape into a different world that is a lot like my world. Also I watched Veep – that always makes me laugh. Especially when Gary goes to a vegan dinner and asks how many beans are in the soup. And it is good for my anxiety as I have watched it so often.

Play?! I danced to very loud techno, with my headphones on so no one could hear, in my dark room so no one could see, and with my eyes closed so I could feel the beat.

old Prayer Books

What to do with your old 1662 BCP that your grandfather used? Or, that BCP that was gifted at your confirmation?

With the change in worship books among Anglicans, I am seeing more BCPs in Op Shops. That is a shame! For a past generation, these were their daily spiritual food – they were daily prayer. More, old Prayer Books are often dedicated to someone as a gift. That makes me feel sad!! Yes, maybe these people have given up on the worship of God, but the people of God have not stopped praying for them.

Well, do not throw your old Prayer Books away! Do not recycle them! Do not take them to the Op Shop to be sold for 20 cents – yes, I paid that much for one. See my new Prayer Book Project. Send me your old Prayer Books and I will pray for the person to whom it is gifted. Or I will pray for a person whom you want to be remembered. Or I will pray for you.

Day 5 – freedom

I am feeling better! I spent too much time on the phone yesterday – settling things for next year. So I am hoping for a relaxed day.

I like being alone. I like the freedom. So, this COVID isolation is a freedom for me. It is the lesson for this all – sometimes, things just happen for the best, even when I think it is terrible. (Sorry, that is very fatalistic – amor fati.)

I read a little yesterday – The Hammer of God by Giertz and English Spirituality by Thornton. The Hammer of God is a novel to which I am returning. Every time I pick a new side. Thornton is quickly becoming my favourite Anglican author, who has put some of my thinking into a larger context. (Also, I think his analysis of the Anglican context is very apt.)

Anyway …

serious personal guidance

At the time Thornton wrote his book, Anglican laity regularly complained that the clergy of the day were not properly equipped to give their flocks “serious personal guidance” in matters of the faith. Lay people believed their parish priests were “excellent and dedicated men, but they were uninterested, or frankly incompetent,” in this kind of work. 

The Ascetical Theology of Augustine and the Book of Common Prayer, Mike Michelin

Today?