Friday, April 1: Zonnie Breckinridge

Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. - John 8:33-47

Carl Jung once wrote that we cannot solve a problem in the same state of consciousness in which it was conceived. Jung must certainly have been familiar with this passage from John. Here, Jesus calls us to step out of that old, familiar place where we have been conditioned to act (or more often, react) by our fragile egos and emotional programs for happiness (power, control, safety, security, approval, esteem). Jesus tells us that when we act from these conditioned patterns learned from the external world, we become a “slave to sin.” From this place, we cannot know the truth, because the truth comes from another place altogether.

Jesus points us in a new direction – toward that interior place where the Divine Indwelling rests and where all truth exists. By opening ourselves to that Divine life force, we open ourselves to God’s unconditional love for us. Only then can we “hear the words of God” and know the truth, which will “set us free” – free of the conditioned patterns of our ego.

The only path I know to this place is through the practice of prayer, most especially through “silent prayer.” By setting aside a regular time of quiet where we empty ourselves of the constant chatter in our head and sit in silence with the sole intention of resting with the Divine Love that lives within us, we will surely be set free.

—Zonnie Breckinridge

Wednesday, March 30: Rebecca Duffy

O that I had in the desert a traveler’s lodging place, that I might leave my people and go away from them! - Jeremiah 8:18-9:6

In this passage from the book of the prophet Jeremiah, the prophet bemoans for a place in the desert he can flee to get away from the evil that he sees among his people. His heart is sick and he doesn’t know how many more lies and deceitful or traitorous acts he can witness. But he stays because he has a calling and he has the conviction to trust in God, especially when he’s most afraid.

During this time of Lenten reflection, this prophet of the past reminds us all that God continues to speak—and He could be speaking to us much more than we realize, more than the people of Jeremiah’s land realized. We should take the time in our daily lives to listen more closely to those around us, to discern whether they might even be God’s prophets, trying to tell us something. Too often we ignore the signs right in front of us. This reflection exercise has been a good reminder that I should listen more closely to God’s word as it is expressed around me, no matter where it originates.

—Rebecca LaBrunerie Duffy

Reading God’s Word with My Grandfather

I got a phone call last month from my Uncle Hal. He’s a Baptist pastor who is no longer working for the Church, and he called to offer me a complete collection of the Interpreter’s Bible, a multi-volume Bible with tons of helpful commentary. It’s the same set that both he and my grandfather used to write sermons many decades ago.

At first I resisted. I thought, “This gift will be heavy and bulky, and I’ll have to find shelf space for it. Besides, there’s a newer version of the Interpreter’s Bible out there that matches the translation we currently use in the Episcopal Church; that version would be much more useful to me.”

Then I thought more about my grandfather, Harold Fremont Smith, a Baptist pastor and a vital force in the American Baptist Church in the Pacific Northwest from the 1930s into the 1960s. He died in a car accident five years before I was born. To use the same books he used would be quite an honor. So I accepted the gift. See, it’s more than just words on a page. It’s the Word of God. I’ll take the books with me to seminary in Virginia this summer. I can imagine myself sitting there, writing papers or sermons with my grandfather right there at my shoulder, whispering inspiration into my ear. I hope I’ll be ready. I hope my ears will be open.

When I get ready to tell a Godly Play story with kids, I tell them, “You have to be ready! How do we get ready? Eyes open, ears open … mouths closed.” We adults could use the same advice in church on Sunday mornings. This is important stuff! We are gathered together to hear the Word of God: the family stories, the stories we tell again and again.

First we hear a reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, a/k/a the Old Testament. Usually it’s something from one of the prophets, or a formative story of the people of Israel. Next we join with the choir for a psalm, one of the hymns of ancient Israel. These are so varied, and their themes so universal, that we still use the same 150 psalms today. Following the psalm is the Epistle: a reading from the Christian Scriptures, a/k/a New Testament. This is usually a letter written in the earliest years of the Christian Church to communicate something of vital importance to a budding Christian community.

Next we hear from one of the four Gospels, the stories of Jesus. We stand for this reading because the Gospels are at the center of our faith. “Gospel” means “Good News.” And could once a week possibly be too often to hear a piece of Good News? Finally, we hear a sermon, an original reflection that opens the Scriptures to us in our own place and time.

The Liturgy of the Word is a time to open our ears. You may think we tell the same stories over and over again in church, but that’s not exactly true. The difference is you: you are different now than you were the last time you heard the story. If you open your ears, you may well find that the words mean something very different now than they did earlier in your life.

Although I never met my grandfather, I am different now than I used to be. Had my uncle given me these volumes when I was 12 or 18 or 25 or 35, I might not have been able to appreciate such a caring gift. Now it will mean much more to me.