Hello ya’ll! That is if there is anyone out there… I hope I still have a few readers. Sorry, I have been such a bad blogger. I know I really have been terrible! I haven’t posted anything since August when I had once again recommitted myself to posting. So here I go at another try… I am trying to think of blogging as a Lenten Discipline I am taking up in order to reflect on life, in this season of preparation for Easter. After all isn’t Lent about facing our brokenness (my inability to keep promises I make to myself), changing our ways (repentance), and trying again confident that God journeys with us.
On a recent Wednesday evening, I traveled to The University of Northampton to hear John Bell, of the Iona community, at a lecture entitled “Incarnating Mystery… The Power of Words and Music in Worship.” It was a great lecture and I was very glad I had made the journey to Northampton. John started out his lecture by sharing a story. He said when he was young and first thinking about a life working in the ministry of the church he was given some good advice by a local minister who was wise with experience. The advice was, “You have to have three loves if you are going into some form of the ministry. These are a love of God, a love for people, and a love for words/language.”
It was the third of category I was surprised by. I didn’t think it was wrong, I just didn’t expect its inclusion in such a list. John went on to explain that we primarily convey truth about God through words and thus a love of language is important. His sharing prompted me to see this experience in my own preparations for Sunday worship and more fully in John’s work as a writer of poetry, prayers, & hymns. There is also something deeper to it too because we Christians call Jesus Christ, the Word of God. As people of faith we use humble words to explore the mystery of the Word who called all creation into being. (John 1:1-5)
So it is back to blogging for me as I seek to explore with you the world of words and language. Until next time…
