Dear Gentle Reader,
Holiday greetings.
So, I’ve been attending early
services at the Cathedral for a while now.
I find the more relaxed, jazz atmosphere in the choir loft to be more
manageably sized for me. Sometimes, I do like the all out, high church service
an hour later.
At the
9 o’clock service, there are American Sign Language interpreters for a
parishioner and of course, gluten free wafers for those who need them. But
there have been two persons in particular who caught my attention.
Today,
the Dean of the Cathedral preached on the concept of ubuntu, without explicitly invoking the word. He said that we are
only as well in being as our neighbors are well in their being. He quoted
French President E. Macron on the centenary of WWI, that a nation, should it
turn inward at the disregard of other nations, risks losing its moral
integrity. In the end, Dean Randy was highlighting the building and ushering in
of the Kingdom of God.
So,
there are some persons in real need that come to worship, as I’m sure you are
well aware. Today, a man dressed in para-military garb sat in the first row. At
first, I thought he was conducting the choir; but then he suddenly clasped his
hands at his mouth as in prayer. Let’s call him “Dan”. When the congregation
laughed politely, at an appropriate level at a turn of phrase from the
preacher, Dan laughed louder and a little too long. He walked toward the altar
to “instruct” someone during prayers. Upon crossing the midline of the church,
Dan dropped to one knee and crossed himself in reverence. Dan picked up a dime
off the floor, held it up, and inspected it, before placing it between his
feet.
In
prior weeks, there was another gentleman, let’s call him “Patrick”. He wore a
giant, green down coat, almost like a sleeping bag with sleeves. He removed his
knit cap. Patrick said hello to me. Patrick crossed himself and bowed his head
as the cross went by.
The
striking thing to me is that Dan and Patrick clearly are churched, and know
what to do and when to get to service on time; they respond to internal cues,
even above the din and competing chaos of poverty and perhaps, mental illness.
I once heard a quote that the
distance between the greatest saint and the biggest sinner is miniscule from
God’s point-of-view. Maybe, even with all our education, training, trappings of
first world affluence, we sit metaphysically close to Dan and Patrick--and God
shows mercy to all of us?
Peace
and thanksgiving,
The
ModSub
