Grains of Sand February Mid-Month 2010
GRAINS OF SAND
February Mid-Month
2010
VICAR’S MESSAGE
February 17th is Ash Wednesday. There will be a Holy Eucharist and Imposition of Ashes - 7 pm at the church. The Gospel for this day (Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18) warns us not to practice our ‘piety’ before others, so as to be rewarded for what we do. Instead, we are to give, pray and fast in secret – God will know – and that is enough.
How is it, then, that a text that suggests we do acts of righteousness in private be read on the same day one receives the imposition of ashes – a very visible and public act of piety. More than a few have struggled with this paradox.
The emphasis on private piety can be overstated. Perhaps its more honest to focus on the more implicit, underlying theme present in the calls to give, pray and fast – namely – authenticity.
Authenticity blurs the rigid lines of public and private. Private acts are not authentic, and public ones inauthentic. Rather, the authenticity of an act of faith (or an act of piety) is determined by the desire and motivation of the one engaged in the act. Those desires and motivations cannot be judged externally.
Let me share a story of an act that is authentic, in large part because the act is done secretly. It comes from a continue reading » »
GRAINS OF SAND
GRAINS OF SAND
GRAINS OF SAND