Proper 11
July 19, 2020
Rome was not built in a day
This assertion can be found in French in a collection of proverbs from 1190. Dickens's fans would know the term from his novel, David Copperfield. It is a colourful call to patience, with particular respect to large projects. The less quoted second half of the proverb, “but it burned down in one” makes the point all the stronger.
Romans 8:25
But if we hope for what we do not see,
we wait for it with patience.
The promise is given in the following verse that the “Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words” when we do not know for what or how to pray. It is almost as if the Spirit can be patient for us when we can't be. In either case, we have all been told, at some point in our lives, that patience is a virtue.
Proper 12
July 26, 2020
Don’t go it alone
As advice for climbing a tall and wobbly ladder, this aphorism speaks of the value of partnerships and mutual support. Extended, it could be taken as proclaiming the value of communal collectives such as food-purchasing clubs or cooperative housing. Note the use of the word “don’t” which implies we actually have the choice to “go it alone” – a suggestion some would counter as being impossible, if not absurd. We are “going” with others whether we wish to or not. Given this understanding, the phrase might be restated, “Don't pretend you are going it alone because you are not alone, whether you like it or not.” Part of the problem of this phrase is that it holds irrespective of the value of project at hand. Such thinking is at the core of recruitment into organized crime activities. Petty thieves are recruited into much larger and more sinister operations to reap the economies of scale to be gained by “not going it alone.”
1 Kings 3:9-11
So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people
and to distinguish between right and wrong.
For who is able to govern this great people of yours?
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.
So God said to him, Since you have asked for this
and not for long life or wealth for yourself,
nor have asked for the death of your enemies
but for discernment in administering justice,
In this text, where King Solomon is speaking with God, the not going it alone refers explicitly to God's help. There is a story I love about a man shipwrecked on a deserted island praying to God for help. When a couple arrives in a sailboat and offers to take him to safety, he replies that he is trusting in God to save him. When a naval ship comes by and calls him to board, he gives the same answer. Finally, when a helicopter hovers over him and calls by loudspeaker, he once again refuses, saying he has prayed and God will save him. The man dies from starvation and exposure. In the afterlife, he complains to God and God replies, “I tried to rescue you three times, and each time you refused my help.”
Proper 13
August 2, 2020
Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn—and most fools do.
The original quote, from Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People continues: "But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.” The quote can be found between praise for Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Carlyle for being people who were kind, diplomatic and consistently avoided negativity.
Psalm 145:8-9
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.
These verses, which come from a long and compelling psalm of praise, are devoid of criticism, complaint and condemnation. What’s more, they appear to describe a God who is characterized in the same way.
Proper 14
August 9, 2020
Be careful what you ask for
These words are associated with Oscar Wilde as they are the moral of his 1891 novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Aesop’s story of The Tortoise and the Eagle tells of the tortoise who wishes to fly and is carried to the skies by the eagle and is dropped only to fall and shatter his shell. The tortoise reflected on the events and realized that wishing for the ability to fly had been the first mistake and to try to act on them his second. An episode of Rod Serling's Night Gallery in 1971 entitled Pamela's Voice starred Phyllis Diller. Her husband had killed her so we would not have to listen to her annoying whining. He is confused when he realizes he is listening to her. She explains that he is dead and this is his afterlife. He responds that he never thought she would be in heaven. Her answer is priceless: “In heaven Jonathan, in heaven. I am afraid the arrangements provided for you are not quite so accommodating.” The words “be careful what you ask for” come to mind whenever I begin to wish or desire and are amplified whenever I begin to take that energy and move it into the realm of prayer. This applies not only to sharing our wishes with God but with others. A story floats around my hometown of a wealthy business owner responding to his spouse's complaints about the lawn not being mowed at the cottage by bulldozing their entire property and painting it green.
Matthew 14:28-30
Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.
But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink,
he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
These verses, which follow Jesus walking on water, live out the words “be careful what you ask for.” Many a sermon is preached on this story, and Peter’s faith followed immediately by his lack of faith. In moments he is confident enough to ask for the ability to walk on water and then is unable to maintain the confidence to do so. He was not careful in what he asked for, And while Peter is rebuked by Jesus for his “little faith” it is only two chapters later (16:16) where Jesus is ready to make Peter the “rock” of the church.
Proper 15
August 16, 2020
You shouldn't tell tales out of school
The phrase is likely older than 1530 where it is found in British Reformer William Tyndale's The Practyse of Prelates. Often appearing with the word “never” at the start, it is generally used as a rejoinder to mind your own business. The fact this phrase arose in the context of a school could imply that such behaviour is correctable in the young but intolerable in the adult. This notion is strongly enforced in the criminal world, sometimes in brutal ways. Slicing someone’s mouth to make it bigger is a punishment for having talked or “ratted out” someone to police. The scar marks them forever not to be trusted. In that culture, the circumstances are irrelevant and the innocence of the phrase above is but a mere dot in the distance.
Matthew 15:19-20
For out of the heart come evil intentions,
murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.
These are what defile a person,
Confidentiality, respect for privacy, and the absence of gossip all fall into a well-known category. This is the category of things that people say are wrong but still do. Surely these words of Jesus, which lump false witness together with an impressive list of wrongdoing, can be understood as a reminder to “never tell tales out of school,” for such actions not only “defile a person” but undermine the very spirit of healthy community.
Proper 16
August 23, 2020
Ours in not to reason why
This phrase is actually a slight misquote from Lord Alfred Tennyson's 1854 poem about the Crimean War, Charge of the Light Brigade. His actual words are "Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die. Into the valley of Death, Rode the six hundred." It talks about a soldier's role to follow orders rather than to think for himself. Even if one's owns reason can predict certain annihilation! It is often used in much broader terms than the narrow military context for which it was first written.
Romans 12:3
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you
not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think,
but to think with sober judgment,
each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
This verse encapsulates what might be the greatest challenge of living the faith. We are not freed from thinking for ourselves nor are we given carte blanche to trust our every instinct. Instead we are to live in challenging middle ground where we are asked to test the spirit of each moment. We are to use our God given sober judgment; we are to reason why! Yet, there is a constant call to humility as to remember where our ability to reason comes from. We are prone to err on both sides of the "sweet spot" where we follow God’s lead. We can create a false humility where we never reason and therefore abdicate our creaturely responsibilities. Or, conversely, we can tilt too far in the other direction and trust our own judgment so much we forget that very ability to judge is a gift from God. This applies in the moment, as well as both in the past and in what is yet to come.
Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Pentecost to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to The Reign of Christ
Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Trinity Sunday to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to The Reign of Christ
Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Pentecost to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to Reign of Christ
For more on Glenn Morison and his book that led to this page, check out The Things We Say.
All this material is copyleft. Feel free to use it however you see fit, with or without attribution.
If you wish to value this page, please make a donation to the Winnipeg Quaker Meeting.
July 19, 2020
Rome was not built in a day
This assertion can be found in French in a collection of proverbs from 1190. Dickens's fans would know the term from his novel, David Copperfield. It is a colourful call to patience, with particular respect to large projects. The less quoted second half of the proverb, “but it burned down in one” makes the point all the stronger.
Romans 8:25
But if we hope for what we do not see,
we wait for it with patience.
The promise is given in the following verse that the “Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words” when we do not know for what or how to pray. It is almost as if the Spirit can be patient for us when we can't be. In either case, we have all been told, at some point in our lives, that patience is a virtue.
Proper 12
July 26, 2020
Don’t go it alone
As advice for climbing a tall and wobbly ladder, this aphorism speaks of the value of partnerships and mutual support. Extended, it could be taken as proclaiming the value of communal collectives such as food-purchasing clubs or cooperative housing. Note the use of the word “don’t” which implies we actually have the choice to “go it alone” – a suggestion some would counter as being impossible, if not absurd. We are “going” with others whether we wish to or not. Given this understanding, the phrase might be restated, “Don't pretend you are going it alone because you are not alone, whether you like it or not.” Part of the problem of this phrase is that it holds irrespective of the value of project at hand. Such thinking is at the core of recruitment into organized crime activities. Petty thieves are recruited into much larger and more sinister operations to reap the economies of scale to be gained by “not going it alone.”
1 Kings 3:9-11
So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people
and to distinguish between right and wrong.
For who is able to govern this great people of yours?
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.
So God said to him, Since you have asked for this
and not for long life or wealth for yourself,
nor have asked for the death of your enemies
but for discernment in administering justice,
In this text, where King Solomon is speaking with God, the not going it alone refers explicitly to God's help. There is a story I love about a man shipwrecked on a deserted island praying to God for help. When a couple arrives in a sailboat and offers to take him to safety, he replies that he is trusting in God to save him. When a naval ship comes by and calls him to board, he gives the same answer. Finally, when a helicopter hovers over him and calls by loudspeaker, he once again refuses, saying he has prayed and God will save him. The man dies from starvation and exposure. In the afterlife, he complains to God and God replies, “I tried to rescue you three times, and each time you refused my help.”
Proper 13
August 2, 2020
Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn—and most fools do.
The original quote, from Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People continues: "But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.” The quote can be found between praise for Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Carlyle for being people who were kind, diplomatic and consistently avoided negativity.
Psalm 145:8-9
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.
These verses, which come from a long and compelling psalm of praise, are devoid of criticism, complaint and condemnation. What’s more, they appear to describe a God who is characterized in the same way.
Proper 14
August 9, 2020
Be careful what you ask for
These words are associated with Oscar Wilde as they are the moral of his 1891 novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Aesop’s story of The Tortoise and the Eagle tells of the tortoise who wishes to fly and is carried to the skies by the eagle and is dropped only to fall and shatter his shell. The tortoise reflected on the events and realized that wishing for the ability to fly had been the first mistake and to try to act on them his second. An episode of Rod Serling's Night Gallery in 1971 entitled Pamela's Voice starred Phyllis Diller. Her husband had killed her so we would not have to listen to her annoying whining. He is confused when he realizes he is listening to her. She explains that he is dead and this is his afterlife. He responds that he never thought she would be in heaven. Her answer is priceless: “In heaven Jonathan, in heaven. I am afraid the arrangements provided for you are not quite so accommodating.” The words “be careful what you ask for” come to mind whenever I begin to wish or desire and are amplified whenever I begin to take that energy and move it into the realm of prayer. This applies not only to sharing our wishes with God but with others. A story floats around my hometown of a wealthy business owner responding to his spouse's complaints about the lawn not being mowed at the cottage by bulldozing their entire property and painting it green.
Matthew 14:28-30
Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.
But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink,
he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
These verses, which follow Jesus walking on water, live out the words “be careful what you ask for.” Many a sermon is preached on this story, and Peter’s faith followed immediately by his lack of faith. In moments he is confident enough to ask for the ability to walk on water and then is unable to maintain the confidence to do so. He was not careful in what he asked for, And while Peter is rebuked by Jesus for his “little faith” it is only two chapters later (16:16) where Jesus is ready to make Peter the “rock” of the church.
Proper 15
August 16, 2020
You shouldn't tell tales out of school
The phrase is likely older than 1530 where it is found in British Reformer William Tyndale's The Practyse of Prelates. Often appearing with the word “never” at the start, it is generally used as a rejoinder to mind your own business. The fact this phrase arose in the context of a school could imply that such behaviour is correctable in the young but intolerable in the adult. This notion is strongly enforced in the criminal world, sometimes in brutal ways. Slicing someone’s mouth to make it bigger is a punishment for having talked or “ratted out” someone to police. The scar marks them forever not to be trusted. In that culture, the circumstances are irrelevant and the innocence of the phrase above is but a mere dot in the distance.
Matthew 15:19-20
For out of the heart come evil intentions,
murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.
These are what defile a person,
Confidentiality, respect for privacy, and the absence of gossip all fall into a well-known category. This is the category of things that people say are wrong but still do. Surely these words of Jesus, which lump false witness together with an impressive list of wrongdoing, can be understood as a reminder to “never tell tales out of school,” for such actions not only “defile a person” but undermine the very spirit of healthy community.
Proper 16
August 23, 2020
Ours in not to reason why
This phrase is actually a slight misquote from Lord Alfred Tennyson's 1854 poem about the Crimean War, Charge of the Light Brigade. His actual words are "Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die. Into the valley of Death, Rode the six hundred." It talks about a soldier's role to follow orders rather than to think for himself. Even if one's owns reason can predict certain annihilation! It is often used in much broader terms than the narrow military context for which it was first written.
Romans 12:3
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you
not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think,
but to think with sober judgment,
each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
This verse encapsulates what might be the greatest challenge of living the faith. We are not freed from thinking for ourselves nor are we given carte blanche to trust our every instinct. Instead we are to live in challenging middle ground where we are asked to test the spirit of each moment. We are to use our God given sober judgment; we are to reason why! Yet, there is a constant call to humility as to remember where our ability to reason comes from. We are prone to err on both sides of the "sweet spot" where we follow God’s lead. We can create a false humility where we never reason and therefore abdicate our creaturely responsibilities. Or, conversely, we can tilt too far in the other direction and trust our own judgment so much we forget that very ability to judge is a gift from God. This applies in the moment, as well as both in the past and in what is yet to come.
Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Pentecost to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to The Reign of Christ
Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Trinity Sunday to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to The Reign of Christ
Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Pentecost to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to Reign of Christ
For more on Glenn Morison and his book that led to this page, check out The Things We Say.
All this material is copyleft. Feel free to use it however you see fit, with or without attribution.
If you wish to value this page, please make a donation to the Winnipeg Quaker Meeting.