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 Standing in Awe

Sunday, Epiphany 4, I spoke of seeing the “Awe” of God in our world.

Today, as I write in my office, I gaze out the window and can see the  Coastal Mountains, capped in snow sparkling, under the morning sun, across the Salish.

These lyrics pop into my head:

This land is your land, this land is my land,
From Bonavista to Vancouver Island;
From the Arctic Circle to the Great Lakes waters,
This land was made for you and me.

[Woody Guthrie's lyrics are ©1956 (renewed 1984), 1958 (renewed 1986) and 1970 TRO-Ludlow Music, Inc. (BMI)]    

For the quintessential Canadian, Guthrie’s lyrics draw us to see the true wonder of our country of Canada.

Guthrie was actually born in Texas.  Yet, he captured the amazing character of Canada’s landscape: a landscape giving Canada the unique flavor we share from coast, to coast, to coast; a landscape for which visitors travel from afar to see, and stand in awe.            

This draws us to ask two questions about our personal lives.

  1. How do I invite others to see the true me?
  2. THEN, how can I look beyond my own, preconceived, ideas about others--to truly see them? 

Each day--as citizens of Canada (and for us who are Christian)--we are challenged by these questions.  How do we answer them?

There is more to consider.

How does the 'church corporate' meet those same questions--in the name of our parish, and our denomination as Anglicans?

There is a constant call to do more. Doing more constantly challenges us to reach at time beyond our capabilities.            

Perhaps, the challenge becomes an opportunity to exam self:
self--in my personal life, in my life as a parish priest, in my life as part of the local parish, and in my life as a Anglican Christian ?             

How do others get to know us? It can be hard to get to know others. We, all, are always changing.

I think of the Anglican Church that I first came to know in the early 70’s. How different it is today! I think of myself as a graduate from theological college in the early 90’s. How I have changed! Yet, I have not changed.

The Spirit of God still resides in me. I remain in ‘awe’ of God. How our Lord has transformed me, and continues to do so!             

As life moves us along the continuum of time, we discover new challenges, new interests. Others, when meeting us, may see outside markers of our life, indicating who we must be, or who we are.

Yet, we remain who we were in birth, just older.            

As we stand in awe of God, I am sure, to our surprise, God stands in awe of us, you and me.

Blessings,
Archdeacon Brian+