What Really Matters

General Convention is now over for three more years.  There were some things that saddened me greatly, like the legislative attempts to legitimize scripturally prohibited behaviour by authorizing a liturgy of blessing for same sex relationships, and the several resolutions and canonical changes designed to accept transexual and transgendered behaviour in the church.  More angered me, such as the endorsements of domestic and foreign political movements, and the pronouncements on technology and social organization, any of which might be acceptable for a Christian to hold, but then the opposing political opinions might also be legitimate for a Christian to hold in the eyes of Scripture.  I will never understand why any religious body endorses political or theological opinions upon which the teachings of Scripture are not clear and decisive.   It only drives people away from the Church and the life giving sacraments which are her's to distribute to God's faithful people. There were a couple of bright points, both of which were supported by our bishop, Bishop Breidenthal.  I was glad to see some tenative steps taken to break up or restructure the authority of the National Church hierarchs, although I am doubtful the resolutions will fully answer to their promise.  The one shining example of faith and doctrine to come out of General Convention was the decision by the House of Bishops (accepted reluctantly by the House of Deputies) to affirm the ancient Christian doctrine that Holy Baptism in the Name of the Trinity is the necessary introduction to the Eucharistic Meal.  But if past history is any guide, the question will arise again in three years, and again after that until the representative democracy of the Episcopal Church manages to change even this most ancient of doctrines.  Such is the curse of modern Protestantism.

But that is all in the past now.  Those who favor the changes and resolutions will point to them again and again, and a few will use them to bully those who disagree.  More will ignore what they do not like and blandly repeat the mantra that resolutions are non-binding, and that the canonical changes only acknowledge what is already going on in some places.  A few will leave, but most of the folks who would leave are already gone, along with over a million others in the last 25 years or so.

But the things that really matter in my life are of a different nature.  I spent yesterday at the barn with Squirt, the Shetland pony.  The heat has been oppressive to this little gal, and as ponys are wont to do in extended heat, she began to founder.  Founder is a dreadful condition, which at it's worst can cause the bones of the lower leg to drive through the sole of the hoof.  Fortunately, we caught this case early.  We walked her and kept her up all day, cooled her feet off with cold water from the hose, and the vet came and administered bute, one of those wonder drugs for which horsemen are so thankful in this modern era.  She is fine now, resting in her stall with daily bute applications, hoof cooling soaks, knee deep straw bedding, and no grain until the middle of next week.

And today was Margaret's fourth birthday.  Grammy and I got to skype with her, Momma, and sister Helen tonight.  It is such a blessing to see this small person grow into all that God has created her to be, and every moment spent with her and her sister, electronically or in person, reminds us how blessed of God we truly are.

Church today was full of friends, friends who walked the extra distance occasioned by the annual downtown Corvette show, which took most of our regular parking places.  As I looked across the congregation, I saw folks I baptised and married, whose loved ones I buried, and with whom I had shared the joys and sorrows of this life.  One of the great joys of my life is being able to minister in a single region for so long, first as a professor, then as a prison and military chaplain, and finally as a parish priest.  There is for me a very real sense of belonging here, and for that I give thanks every day.

In the grand scheme of things, what really matters are the relationships that God has given me in the here and now.  Many things on the world stage can aggravate me with regularity, and have the potential to change my life unalterably, but those things which really matter are closer to home.  In this place, I have found contentment, and purpose, and a sense of the living presence of the true God.  How could I ever in good conscience allow those things of the broader world to distract me from the blessings all around me?  It just wouldn't be right.