"I die every day!"

Monday, October 19, 2009 -- Week of Proper 24, Year One
William Carey, Missionary to India, 1834

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 988)
Psalms 25 (morning) 9, 15 (evening)
Jeremiah 44:1-14
1 Corinthians 15:30-41
Matthew 11:16-24

"I die every day!"

Paul's remarkable courage is manifest in many places in his letters and in the Acts of the Apostles. He frequently faced life threatening situations. He mentions one of those today -- "If with merely human hopes I fought with wild animals at Ephesus,what would I have gained by it?" His letters are full of potentially demoralizing conflicts that he addresses among his churches. He lived a difficult life, full of conflict and threat.

There is something about his trust in Christ's power of resurrection that allowed him to face all of this with profound courage. "I die every day!" he says.

His courage was enabled by his detachment. He trusted the power of Christ in his life -- the power of life over death. He trusted Christ so much, that he could let go of everything. He could let go of the results of conflicts about things important to him, and even his own existence. By clinging to nothing except a fierce trust in God's activity revealed in Christ, he was free. Nothing could really threaten him. Not animals in an amphitheater, not a storm at sea capsizing his ship, not church fights that threaten to split the congregation he had founded. He was able to let go of his attachment to all of that, trusting in Christ's power of resurrection to bring about new life regardless of what the circumstances might be. He was bulletproof. Not a bad way to live.

Not a bad way to start each day. What would it take to die every day? What would it take to die every morning? ...to let go of attachment and anxiety about everything, including one's own being, and march into the day confident that God will bring the power of resurrection to whatever comes? That's the source of Paul's courage. We are given the same source for our own lives as well.

Lowell

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About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
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The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

Our Rule of Life

We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.

Lowell Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas