What is it we are missing – October 25
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 31; PM Psalm 35; Ecclus. 11:2-20; Rev. 9:13-21; Luke 10:38-42
Wednesday night, I arrived at Camp McDowell for the annual gathering of clergy conference in our diocese. During our meetings yesterday, we heard from the Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, bishop of the diocese of Indianapolis. She offered fascinating reflections on the ways we attend to our church buildings and pay attention to the movements in our neighborhoods over time. The bishop’s message resonates with me, as I was jogging through the neighborhoods around Saint Stephen’s this week. Real estate development has turned an area that was once known as “Slab Town” into an idyllic neighborhood with beautiful homes and carefully manicured landscapes. I wonder if those living around Saint Stephen’s – especially those new to the area – have heard that this was a space of financial poverty and deep concern fifty years ago. Who will keep telling these stories of who we are and from whence we’ve come? Some details get lost. They always do. There is still meaning, even in the gaps.
Speaking of gaps, in today’s Old Testament reading from Ecclesiasticus – also known as the Wisdom of Sirach - there are two verses missing. Reading these lines of wisdom that feel sage and relevant, I noted that it jumped from verse 14 to 17. Verses 15 and 16 are pulled out into a footnote…but I was unaware until I saw the asterisk. Here’s what is missing: “Other ancient authorities add as verses 15 and 16: Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of the law come from the Lord; affection and the ways of good works come from him. Error and darkness were created with sinners; evil grows old with those who take pride in malice.”
Like people moving into new households around Saint Stephen’s without knowing how this area used to be, I did not realize what lines of scripture had been amid these verses previously. I took the words I was reading at face value and did not think to wonder more deeply. Paying attention to the history of who we have been and what came before can give us the gift of appreciating the changes that have come. One day, our stories will be part of the past, too. Our words and fingerprints will be covered up by others. And this is what wisdom literature in the Bible points out for us: let us live well and faithfully to God this day, for that is all we have – the gift of this moment.
Faithfully,
Katherine+
Going Deeper
What is the story of your neighborhood?
How can you be more curious today - both in the words you pray and in the ways you speak with those who are closest to you?