Daily Musings

Dr. David  Smith, parishioners, and other guest authors write periodically in this space.

Contact Dr. Smith at dsmith@chathamhall.org. To receive Daily Musings by email, enter your email address in the box provided below on the right.

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What the Late Middle Ages Wrought

From the WSJ, 12/19/09

"King's College Chapel is the product of royal favor, religious politics, civil wars, labor strife and superb craftsmanship."

Praised by the poet William Wordsworth in 1820 as "this immense and glorious work of fine intelligence," King's College Chapel in Cambridge, England, is the product of an extraordinary combination of royal commitment, turbulent religious politics, violent civil wars, vicious labor disputes, superb medieval craftsmanship, and engineering that has never been replicated and is still not fully understood today. The historian Francis Woodman, author of "The Architectural History of King's College Chapel," calls it "the English building of the late Middle Ages, every element capturing the artistic and political revolution of its time."

Continue at wsj.com

Keeping Our Souls Afloat

November and December are here and that means three things: stewardship, Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

Most of us separate, compartmentalize, and distinguish these annual wonders in peculiar ways, but in fact they all combine nicely into a collective whole.  At worst they simply salve our guilt, fill our tummies and excite our senses. 

At best they prioritize our lives and energize our spirits by going into hand-to-hand combat with our ever present (and unwanted) companion - self interest.

There is nothing like giving money away to set one’s soul right and I’m a bit weary of hearing about “these trying economic times.” 

In our parish, no one (of whom I am aware) is worried about where their next meal is coming from.  No one is going to have the bank foreclose on his or her house.  Some of us may have seen our investment portfolios drop and have to be a touch more cautious with indiscriminate spending, but all in all we are fine. 

We can thank God for that and should do so regularly.  I have always thought the best way to display outwardly our inward gratitude to God is by giving money away. 

I watched my parents tithe their whole lives and can vividly remember my father repeating his personal mantra, “If people can’t live off 90% of their income then they are living too high.” 

I think that’s true and I think we can do it at Emmanuel.  It’s good for us to remember that God does not need our money.  If God wanted our money, God would take our money. 

Giving money toward the work of God’s kingdom has nothing to do with keeping God afloat, or even keeping the church afloat.  It’s about keeping our souls afloat.  Giving money away is GOOD for us - even better than eating fruit and vegetables! 

There is something most satisfying and faithful about giving away that which we hold dear and realizing we really did not need it anyway and someone is going to benefit beyond belief. 

We all live pretty well and the more we give away the more God’s idea of how money and resources should be distributed is fulfilled. God has given us all we need and what better way to celebrate holidays than making God (and ourselves) happy by sharing it.

- David Smith

I Do Feel Different

After my ordination to the priesthood on June 2, I had a number of people ask me if I felt any different. 

The first time the question was asked I chuckled politely and commented how heavy it felt to have all those hands pressing down on me. Then, someone else asked, “Do you feel any different?” and again I responded rather blithely that I felt relieved the service went well and all the preparations were over. 

When I was asked a third time if I felt any different, it made me stop and consider the question seriously.  Throughout the whirlwind of planning, preparations, end of school activities, graduation and faculty meetings, I had not taken even the briefest moment to reflect on being ordained an Episcopal priest. 

So, to answer the question, “Do you feel different?” the answer is yes. 

I feel different in much the same way people feel different when they go from being engaged to being married, or when one goes from being a person to a parent, or even when someone we dearly love dies. 

In those moments everything changes; somehow the world seems to shift a bit on its axis and we no longer see through the same lens.  Even though I was ordained by the Presbyterian Church (USA) and lived in that world for thirty years, Episcopal ordination is different.

There is a mysterious and wonderful sense of belonging to a cadre of men and women who stand humbly in the line of apostolic succession.  There is an overwhelming sense of the inner meaning of “the communion of the saints”.  I have a much different perspective on what it means to serve as an emissary of God on earth and to be given authority to celebrate God’s sacraments and share them with God’s people. 

Unlike my previous ordination, I now truly feel “set apart” for a distinct and dedicated life.   It’s different and I love it.

- David Smith

Do you know who your children are?

For parents, worrying about the health and welfare of their children is a lifelong obsession. Reaching adulthood is merely the end of one phase in the relationship and the beginning of another more complicated one.

Consider some of these parenting lessons:

• Your adult children are more like colleagues now – your relationships with adult children will generally be more effective if you meet them as equals. Your roles may vary based on experience and responsibility, but you are all part of the same family.

• Your children have ideas, too, and they are not the same as yours – we could all benefit from a lot more listening and a lot less talking. Besides, they own the future; we are mired in the past.

• The world is different now, but the stories are the same – I am already hearing the “oh Dad” when I commence what my children refer to as a “when I was a child” story. The challenge is to engage your children through time-tested stories about integrity and excellence but cast those stories in terms that are more relevant to their lives.

- a parishioner

How is the weather?

"So often we wait for the climate and conditions in life to be perfect before we feel safe enough to step forward, trust, and be our authentic selves. What we don't realize is that in order to create the ideal climate we are waiting for, we must be authentic first."

— Sonia Choquette, spiritual teacher and author

Lessons from South Africa

Upon our return from the recent Chatham Hall service trip to South Africa, someone asked me if I would ever go back.  My answer was swift and certain - Yes, yes and more yes! 

The people on the African continent are joyful, remarkably optimistic, and spiritually vital despite the political, economic, military and cultural uncertainty that seems to be everywhere.

Christianity is growing faster throughout Africa than any other place in the world. Unlike churches throughout Europe that, for the most part, are empty on Sunday mornings, churches in Africa must have multiple services each week to accommodate the crowds. 

Even the little Anglican Church in Touwsriver, South Africa (a small town 3 hours west of Capetown) has two services each Sunday morning so everyone can attend.

Chatham Hall students visiting a small apostolic church in Touwsriver, South Africa during their Spring 2009 Service Trip

I’m not sure why the church is growing so fast in Africa.  I wish I did.  But if I had to guess I’d say it has something to do with how much sense Jesus’ words make to them.

• “Blessed are the poor.”
• “Blessed are the mourners.”
• “Blessed are those who are persecuted”. 

All this makes sense to people who have known little else since the middle of the 17^th century; and all this makes sense to people with a seemingly bottomless well of smiling, authentic good will. 

The message of God’s love for them is not one of which they must be convinced.  It is part of their genetic code, and worship for them is as natural as breathing. 

The churches do not have fancy programs or grand facilities.  However, the people have hearts and souls in which God has taken up permanent residence and they love to let it show. 

               - David Smith

(Dr. Smith was one of six Chatham Hall faculty members accompanying this year’s Chatham Hall students on their March service trip to South Africa.)

The joys of the moment

Our adult children came home to visit over the Easter weekend. It always amazes me how different the house feels when they are home. The house literally shrinks in size and yet seems more alive than before.

Part of that difference comes because we re-center our days and our lives on them when they are with us. Our own concerns become secondary. What can we do for them? To make their visit more pleasant so that they will want to come again?

Are we welcoming the visitors in our midst? What can we do to make their day better?

Mary was right – the joy is in the moment. [1]

- a parishioner

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[1] Luke 10:38-42

God Still Isn't Dead

A refreshing op/ed piece in today's Wall Street Journal by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge of the Economist highlights a number of statistics which should buoy the spirits of all Christians during this Easter season.

• Three-quarters of Americans consider themselves Christians
• A fifth of the "atheists" in a recent Pew Survey said that they believed in God
• The largest megachurches attract tens of thousands of people
• The authors estimate that there are maybe 100 million Christians in China
• More Chinese attend church each Sunday than there are members of the Communist Party

God is alive and at work in the world!

- a parishioner

Choosing a New Beginning

Last week's final  episode of Battlestar Galactica surprised many of its fans when the surviving remnants of humanity chose a new beginning instead of a continuation of their prior lives.  Fewer than 40,000 humans had escaped the devastation of their home world only to be chased across the galaxy by the Cylons, robotic creatures of their own making.

Finally reaching a new Earth (or Earth like planet), the survivors determine literally to start over by abandoning all of their remaining creature comforts, technology and space ships in favor of blending into the local hunter-gather humanoid population in hopes of avoiding a repeat of their culture's past mistakes.

Easter represents our new beginning as we turn from the past and take a different direction with Christ into the future. Lent is that period of transition when we come to terms with our past and prepare ourselves for the future - seeking a new beginning, mindful of our past, and hoping that we can, with God's help, avoiding making the same mistakes all over again.

- a parishioner

What time is it?

I recently hit one of those birthdays ending with a zero. It’s one of those milestones that cause you to pause and think about what you want to do with the rest of your life – with two-thirds down and one-third to go (I hope).

Commiserating recently with a friend on this subject, my friend responded,

“You know, it’s not about how old you are; it’s about how much time you have left. And none of us know that for sure.”

What's really important to you?
What are you trying to accomplish?
What can you contribute?

It’s time to stop thinking and start doing!

- a parishioner