Jeremiah 6:16

Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, "We will not walk in it."

Ah, the humanity! One of the first words we learn to say is, "No!" Anyone who has been around a two-year-old has seen this, and, in some sense, we carry that two-year-old within us until we join the Church Triumphant. We substitute ritual for obedience. That's the bad news.

The good news is the ancient paths are there, and God sends us sentinels to point the way; all we have to do is ask, listen, when we stand at the crossorads. There will be, as we walk to Jerusalem, rest for our souls.

Keep your eyes open

Are there any geologists along on this journey?

How about rock hounds?

As we walk, let's keep our eyes open for a mineral found here on the Kola Peninsula. It's called Staurolite.

Yee Haw! We found one.

Hooray! Here's another.

This week's meditation

Genesis 12: 1-3

The Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

What was Abram’s yearning?

What is your yearning?

What is Christ Church’s yearning?

Who is the WE that we yearn to be?

Isaiah 59.9

Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us; we wait for light, and lo! there is darkness; and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.

We've all felt this way at times; I have, certainly. This section, 59.1-21, tells us, however, this isn't all there is. God isn't impotent and/or deaf. God's hand isn't too short to save or ear to dull to hear. We've often placed walls between us and God's salvation; I know I have. We go down blind alleys; I know I have. Yet God is always ready for us to return. Isaiah is convinced that, when there is no human helper available, God intervenes. Christians believe, of course, the ultimate intervention is Jesus. The Chapter ends as it begins, with the assurance God will come as our redeemer. God will keep covenant, even when we do not.

I guess I can sign on again! A note of gratitude.

The last several times I've tried to sign on I was told that I "wasn't allowed" ....... Hmmmmmmmm. I guess I was supposed to just be with my thoughts and not share them with the world wide net. LOL

I just want to say that I am so proud of the volunteers who have come to the last two choir rehearsals!! They are hard-working, surprising themselves and each other (and actually not me, I figured they'd be fabulous).

If I were keeping a gratitude journal, I'd have to put the 10 people who have shown up for the last two choir rehearsals at the top of my list. They just get better every week. I'm looking soooooooooooo forward to moving the congregation with these folks' ministry in the coming months.

Soli deo gloria!

St. Christopher, Patron of Travelers

St. Christopher was martyred in Lycia, in what is now Turkey, in the mid-3rd Century.

A Walking Song for the Next Week

WALK THOU WITH ME

“Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way?” Luke 24:32

Words: E. B. Barnes, cir ca 1911.

Music: Confidence (Rodeheaver), Homer A. Rodeheaver

Walk Thou with me, nor let my footsteps stray
Apart from Thee, throughout life’s threatening way;
Be Thou my Guide, the Path I cannot see;
Close to Thy side, Lord, let me walk with Thee.

Refrain

Dear Savior, let me trust my hand in Thine,
And let me know Thy steps are guiding mine;
Life’s changing way is oft times dark to me,
I fear no ill if I may walk with Thee.

Through weary years my way hath miry been;
My bitter tears Thy pitying eye hath seen;
My fainting heart hath heard Thy voice divine;
My trembling hand asks but to rest in Thine.

Refrain

No earthly foe can give my spirit fear;
No threatening woe can quail when Thou art near;
No tempter’s snare can turn my steps aside,
For in Thy care, I’m safe whate’er betide.

Refrain

Isaiah 42:24

Who gave Jacob to the spoiler, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose laws they would not obey?

Yesterday, our daughter-in-law, Emily, gave birth to our second grandchild, Paul Fain Hanscom:

http://www.hanscomfamily.com/?p=14455

Our Parish is trying to reduce its energy profile, both collectively and individuallly. The innocence of any newborn, not just Paul, reminds us, politics aside, there is no such thing as a victimless crime. Whatever we do on our walk to Jerusalem is either for or against God. It is God for whom we act or against whom we have sinned, and our actions will have future consequences for such innocents as Paul, as, with or without God, our actions have consequences.

Isaiah 42:5-7

Thus says the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the Lord, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

This is from what is known as "The First Servant Song." In total, it affirms God's glorious victory and that God is creator of all and source of life. God has called Israel to bring light to nations groping in darkness.

As we walk to Jerusalem, these words can be seen as our "marching orders."

Isaiah 40:31

... but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Next to the "valley of death" verse in Psalm 23, this may be the most famous "walking verse" in the Hebrew Scriptures. The word which translates "wait" doesn't mean we're to be passive, and do nothing until God does. It is an active term, and connotes we're to walk on in confidence, knowing God will not desert us. Our faith, regardless of circumstance, is an active faith.

Nice Quote

The circumstances of our lives are another medium of God’s communication with us. God opens some doors and closes others.... Through the wisdom of our bodies, God tells us to slow down or reorder our priorities. The happy coincidences and frustrating impasses of daily life are laden with messages. Patient listening and the grace of the Spirit are the decoding devices of prayer. It is a good habit to ask, What is God saying to me in this situation? Listening to our lives is part of prayer.

- Marjorie J. Thompson
Soul Feast

Isaiah 35:8-10

A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God's people, no traveler, even fools, shall go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come upon it, they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

What a contrast to Monday's reading - here, when Zion is restored, even fools won't go astray!!! God is our redeemer and ransomer, and the land upon which we walk is like a paradise, like a walled garden full of beauty and rest. There is singing instead of sorrow and sighing. All creation will see God's glory. And, little is asked of us but to walk the Holy Way.

On the Barents Sea

(Photo: IMR)

Franz Josef Land

Isaiah 8:11-13

For the Lord spoke thus to me while His hand was strong upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: Do not call conspiracy all that this people call conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears, or be in dread. But the Lord of Hosts, Him you shall regard as holy; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.

There is little to be added here. God's ways are not the ways of human beings, and we should keep this always in mind as we walk to Jerusalem. God can either be a sanctuary or a stumbling-rock for us, depending on out choice.

Isaiah 3.16-17

The Lord said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet, the Lord will afflict with scabs the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.

This sound misogynistic, but God is equally hard toward the men of Jerusalem. This verse teaches us it is not enough just to walk, but we need to walk rightly.

St. James the Greater, Patron of Pilgrims

Tradition holds St, James preached the Gospel in Spain before returning to Judea, where he was killed by Herod. His body was, legend says, miraculously transported back to Spain. In art, St. James is often depicted as a pilgrim carrying a staff and a bottle of water and dressed in heavy walking boots, a cloak, and a large hat.

Protect Polar Bear Habitat

We are called to be good stewards of the creation. This little video is a reminder to all of us to do all that we can to reduce our carbon footprint and thereby protect this polar ice pack that we have been "walking on" for several weeks.

This Week's Meditation

Matthew 4: 8-10

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

***********************

Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.

Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.

Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.

This week, let this verse resonate for a day or two and then ponder this question:

What is your mission/vocation/work in life?

A Walking Song for the Next Week

How wonderful it is to walk with God

How wonderful it is to walk with God
Along the road that holy men have trod;
How wonderful it is to hear Him say:
Fear not, have faith, ’tis I who lead the way!

How wonderful it is to talk with God
When cares sweep o’er my spirit like a flood;
How wonderful it is to hear His voice,
For when He speaks the desert lands rejoice!

How wonderful it is to praise my God,
Who comforts and protects me with His rod;
How wonderful to praise him every hour,
My heart attuned to sing His wondrous power!

How wonderful it is to fight for God,
And point poor sinners to the precious blood;
How wonderful it is to wield His sword
’Gainst sin, the enemy of Christ, my Lord!

How wonderful ’twill be to live with God
When I have crossed death’s deep and swelling flood;
How wonderful to see Him face to face
When I have fought the fight and won the race!