Saturday, February 20, 2021

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Wayne Gagnon

The Collect of the Day

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities stretch forth your right hand to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings: Isaiah 58:9b–14, Luke 5:27–32 & Psalm 86:1–11

As I ponder today’s reading from Isaiah I am reminded that it is a reflection of how I would like to live my life.

Notice, I said how I would LIKE to live my life!

Unfortunately, there are times when I fail to live up to my own ideals. I haven’t always been faithful to the goals I have set, and the ideals I have tried to meet.

Sure, I have set lofty goals, but I am also first to admit that those goals have sometimes remained unmet.

Is it that I am lax, or that I have set the goals too high?I think the latter. Lax in my commitment to be a better person, lax in not holding my tongue, lax in sailing a true course. Lax In placing limits on my own desire be generous. Especially generosity of opinion.

Shut thy mouth is sometimes the best self-advice I can give (and take!)

But I must also admit, that if I did not fail at times, it would leave me with another problem, and that would be a false sense of meeting my goals, I suppose. That would be a sad state of affairs, as it would leave no room for self-reflection, and would lead me to think I’m doing all I can, and doing it well!

So I take from Isaiah today that God will lift us up, and he will help us along the way, but we need to do our share and help carry our own burdens.

I don’t want to lower my goals, but rather I would like them to remain high, so I can constantly aspire to be a better person and lead a better life.

For me, personally, I need goals and I need to always be pointed in the right direction. I try. And try.

So as of today, I can tell you that the score is about even.

I am on a good path, but I have strayed a bit at times, and I always feel the need to get back on that path.

Prayer, faith, and the wonderful parish of St. Johns is a great help to me in my daily life, and I am thankful that I have such good companions along the way.

Be well. Aspire.