CAN'T FORGIVE? What’s the scariest verse in the New Testament? For me, it’s not Jesus’s prediction of the end times in Luke, or even the apocalyptic prophecies of John in his dotage. It’s that little sentence He slips in after explaining to his lads how they should pray, by way of emphasizing the only way we can receive the Father’s forgiveness: “If you do not forgive others, you won’t be forgiven [see Matthew 6:15]. Now that’s something to worry about! Do I harbor a few scraps of unforgiveness in my heart toward ANYONE? Are there one or two crumbs of bitterness left after trying to clean my house of the remains of my past? Guess what? I won’t be forgiven MY sins! What does that say about my chances of eternal life? Where does that leave me? Is it worth the risk? Are we sure our side of the street is clean? We all know that forgiveness is for the benefit of the forgiver, not the forgiven—it gets a monkey off his back. If we need a push, remember what the One whose birthday we’re celebrating this season begged for his torturers—”Forgive them, Father, because they don’t know what they’re doing.”

THE PHANTOM PRINTER The phantom printer sometimes sneaks in and plops something into the Book of Common Prayer which I’ve never really seen—or at least appreciated— before. At our last baptism, He did it once again. On page 308, part of the post-baptismal prayer reads “give them an inquiring and discerning heart.” Therein lies a huge assumption. I understand these words to mean that they are NOT merely to accept everything read or told to them blindly; they are to THINK, evaluate, and decide, guided by God’s Holy Spirit. To make it personal, we are to use [as Richard Hooker laid out in one of the three legs of the Anglican stool, in addition to the Bible and church tradition], reason. And note that it’s our heart we’re to use, meaning we’re invested in the process, not just analytical. As a practical matter, I gather that we are to use our God-given brains [the original computers!] to figure out how eternal truths apply to us in our lives, in our times. Quite an order—but is there anything more worthwhile?

MEEK? Recently someone gave a loved one a sign quoting the beatitude “Blessed are the meek,” and it set this old brain recalling several sermons on just what did Jesus mean by “meek,” anyway? Did He mean “be a doormat—let anyone and everyone walk over you, use you at will,any time or anyplace”? Did He mean “don’t express your opinion—don’t even HAVE an opinion”? Is that really how He expects us to “inherit the earth?” Hardly! I see this statement meaning “Blessed are the humble.” Step seven in the Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve Step program, “humbly asked God to remove all these shortcomings,” spends almost the entire chapter on describing humility. It talks about coming into a right relationship with God and our fellows. It tells us that it’s something we grow to want and need and, for me, it stems from a profound feeling of gratitude to God for having brought me through life’s storms as unscathed as I am, showered with undeserved blessings. It means I am NOT the center of the universe. A far cry rom being a doormat!

THE FOURTH BLESSING In Eucharistic Prayer C, on page 370 of the Book of Common Prayer, we find those words of gratitude: “you...blessed us with memory, reason, and skill.” One can hardly disagree. But I’ve wondered why the composers of this prayer didn’t acknowledge one more blessing, without which the first three would, in my view, be cold and sterile. In fact, they could be used in brilliant but evil ways against us or our fellow man [or woman—we are NOT sexist!]. It gives purpose to all our other blessings, and enriches the quality of our lives beyond compare. And indeed He has blessed us with it, and continues to bless us with it, asking only that we recognize and utilize it. All mental illness, all strife between persons and nations, all manifestations of greed, envy, and hate, are due to our ignoring this precious gift, ours for the asking. What is it, you ask? It’s the capacity to love—him, each other, and his creation. It’s the ground of our being, the salvation of our souls, and using it is his greatest commandment! Now why didn’t those composers think of that? Did you?