wednesday, August 29 --Job and Yoda

Just got back from walking Yoda, the dog that came into our life next week, and then I did Morning Prayer. The Hebrew Testament lesson  right now is Job Chapter 7-- what a tension between the joyful walk with my dog trying to sniff everything in the pre-dawn air and ground- greeting each new smell with enthusiasm  and the exhaustion of Job with life. But there is one point in which they converge in part of verse 7  "Remember that my life is a breath."

Job in his misery looks back at when the days were once full of joy and now wants his life to cease breath and Yoda, less than one week out of the SPCA is thankful for each breath. Job dreading the future mourns the past and Yoda welcomes the present and leaves the past behind-- and the future for Yoda? Like he cares- all he has is today.

Job, the book says comes from the Land of Uz - but no one knows where Uz was - But those of us who have stayed more than a few days and months in the emotional land of Job know exactly where Uz is. I have known what it is like to feel what Job feels and have said in my prayers some of the same words of Job. I have friends and loved ones who are exactly in that place of Job, the land of darkest Uz, and they are in my prayers now as I did Morning Prayer.

As the Canticle from today's morning prayer from starts:Isaiah 60:1-3, 
Arise, shine, for your light has come, *
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land; *
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise, *
and his glory will appear upon you.

Today I choose the l will remember that life is a breath and, like Yoda, will put my nose to work and try to sniff every breath I have.
A Prayer of Self-Dedication
Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated unto you; and then use us, we pray you, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Feast of Thomas Gallaudet

PRAYER  
O loving God, whose will it is that everyone should come to you and be saved: We bless your Holy Name for your servants Thomas Gallaudet and Henry Winter Syle, whose labors with and for those who are deaf we commemorate today; and we pray that you will continually move your Church to respond in love to the needs of all people; through Jesus Christ, who opened the ears of the deaf, and who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. A-Men

I start this blog on this date by accident and design -- I must start of blog to be able to connect to more people but it is an accident that it begins on this feast day. These are the men who started Episcopal Church's Ministry with the deaf. My first job as a Rector had a small deaf congregation that worshiped separately at the church. I felt I needed to do pastoral work with them and they taught me sign language--or at least they tried to teach me to sign. My sermons in were so simple because that was all I could sign. My people had so much patience with me and limited their laughter when I would make a mistake. For instance the sign for "Peace is two hands coming together  and then resolving BUT if you cup your hands and bring them together the sign is for "Hamburger". I  got so nervous that instead of  The Peace of the Lord be with you!" I signed "The Hamburger of the Lord be with you!" They signed back their own response-- instead of the response "And also with you!" They signed "And alsoi with cheese."



It reminds me of the old line from Monty Python's Life of Brian where the disciples argue about the correct hearing of the Beatitudes being  "Blessed be the cheesemakers!" instead of "Blessed be the Peacemakers" How much we go out of our way to take ourselves so seriously and proclaim our firm knowledge of "Facts of Dogma" when we are dealing with the Mystery of God. I am sure God has more than a few laughs over us as we pompously proclaim our ignorance as knowledge.