Saturday, March 4, 2023
Love Small things most
The Rev. Gordon Allen & The REv. Rob Stevens
I never know how God might speak, and if I am paying attention the surprises of God’s grace are everywhere! This morning as I wondered what my day would hold I found this article clipped from a paper from long ago in my office mailbox. It is a simple, wonderful column by former Rector and beloved child of God, The Rev. Gordon R. Allen. Father Allen was rector of St. John’s for twenty years between 1975-1995. As you contemplate how you might practice your Lenten disciplines I encourage you to read Father Allen’s words. They may have been written decades ago, but they ring true for me today…
Love Small Things Most
By The Rev. Gordon R. Allen
Chatting with one of my fellow clergy recently, we were remarking on how precious some of the smallest and most fundamental things are and easily we take the for granted.
Indeed, it is not until they are endangered or we have lost them that we come to realize something of their true value. Matters of health, the simple powers of locomotion, our daily food, a drink of water, to name a few—they are treasures, and when we have them, we are rich, and we don’t, then those material things on which normally we place such store, cease to matter very much. It is noteworthy in that our Lord Jesus Christ, as He instructed His disciples to pray in the most famous of all prayers, begins by praising God, the Giver of all good, and only then when He has offered His devotion, does He make a petition, but not for anything extravangant.
‘Daily Bread’ is what He asks for—no mention, note, of the peanut butter or jelly—these are bonuses, and we are lucky if we have them. It is good to remind ourselves from time to time of how important are the humble things in life—the ones we so often overlook and yet are the very foundation of our happiness and well-being. And as we do so, to offer our praise to God in turn, for this rich portion of His bounty to us. St. Thomas A. Kempis wrote in his “Imitation of Christ,” “Be thankful and this you will be worthy of the greater.” And I believe that sums it up.
I invite you, with the support and guidance of our rich tradition, to the observance of a Holy Lent. May it fill you will God’s grace and light, may it rekindle in you your love for God and self, may it remind you, as Father Allen so beautifully captured, of the small things that matter so much, and may we all tend a grateful heart within us.