conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

st martin

This is Martin, a soldier's son
who chose to follow Christ instead
and not the gods of war.
He tore his cloak in half one night,
to wrap some poor uncared-for soul
in warmth and care against the bitter cold.
Next night, in dreams, he heard in singing,
a voice of heaven saying,
'Martin, you have clothed Me with this cloak.'

At twenty-six he built his first communiy of hermits,
living simply, loving God,
and this was the life that Martin taught,
and this was the house that love built;
and this was the heart that John heard;
and this was the way that God made.

scripture

The feast day for St. Martin of Tours is November 11, tomorrow. But the wee prayer book reminds us of Martin's ministry today with the poem to the right. Once again, we see this need for community...even a "community of hermits." Egeria, in her travelogue from the third century, speaks of the valleys into Jerusalem being filled with hermits...cities of hermits. I am not sure I can rightly claim I understand what "hermit" means after all of this. But the discipline of solitude in the midst of community is an interesting one. It is not the discipline of anti-sociality. Christianity is relational, social at its core. So, it does make some sense that even our solitude has to be understood in terms of relationship...with God and with one another. So strange.

Well, insomnia struck. I woke up at four this morning. A shame, really, I have a long day ahead of me. This is the weekend for the annual meeting of the ABC/MC. It begins with the Ministers' Council meeting at three this afternoon and ends tomorrow with lunch. I will try to ration my energy as the day progresses.

The sermon is coming together well. Larry and I spoke at length about the lectionary readings for the next couple of weeks. It is a timely set of readings speaking about the place of politics and the nature of human leadership. All is enshrouded in a cosmic order, not simply a human one. It is quite lovely, really. In listening to the news this morning, I wonder how many concessions will be made on both sides. Compromise can be a good thing. But the posturing "let's all be friends now" is a bit grating. It seems insincere somehow. I am hopeful that the intention is sincere and that intention will lead to actual cooperation. Now that would be a legacy worth bragging about.

Y'all have a good day.

listening bar
Are You Gonna Be My Girl? - Jet

Posted by tripp at November 10, 2006 06:12 AM