The Encouraging Thomist

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector Icon I. "Oh Lord, bless your heart!" Now, what did you hear  when I said that phrase? Because the content of that phrase  carries with it a very contextualized meaning with it   if you have grown up in the South. "Oh, bless your heart." This phrase can mean two different things,  as some of you may know. One of them is a congenial meaning,  such as how my grandma would use it after me or one of my friends   got hurt playing outside,    "Oh, bless your heart!" Or,  it can also be used dismissively and antagonistically,   as in someone does something or says something socially out of line,    "Ugh, bless their heart." That one person in your social life  that everyone knows is, you know, and little on the manipulative side   rolls up and is trying to coax you into doing something that she wants to do,    and you think to yourself,   ...

The Persistent Widow  by James Tissot I. Young Child: "Mom.                          Mom.                           Momma!                            Mahhm!!" Mom: "Oh my goodness child,              I heard you the first time.              What do you want??" Young Child: "Can I have a snack?" Mom: (sighs) "Yes, what kind of snack do you want?" Young Child: "Marshmallows!" Mom: "Marshmallows aren't a snack!" Young Child: "Please please please can I just have 5 marshmallows?" Mom: (sighs again) "Okay, just THIS ONCE. No more marshmallows for a snack after this." _________________ Teenager: "Hey Dad.                   Dad.     ...

The Healing of the 10 Lepers Icon I. Has anyone here heard the hymn, "It is Well With My Soul"? Growing up in the Baptist Church,  this was one of the hymns that was played the most,   at least in my young memory. And the lyrics to the first verse were always in my memory:    When peace like a river, attendeth my way,    When sorrows like sea billows roll    Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say    It is well, it is well, with my soul And, of course,  the chorus of the song was simply a repetition of that last line,   with melody and harmony echoing in the background.    It is well (it is well),    With my soul (with my soul),    It is well, it is well with my soul. There is always a story behind the songs we sing in church, friends,  and the writing of "It is Well With My Soul"   was written in the middle of a heart-wrenching tragedy. The author of ...

I. Have you ever ridden  a really well-trained horse before? If you have,  you might not know how many hundreds of hours of riding   and training and guidance    that that particular animal needed     in order to respond faithfully and loyally,      trusting in its rider       and following instructions. Some of you know that I used to train American Quarter Horses  when I was in high school.   I also trained kids to ride horses when I was in college,    so it occupied a large portion of my life. And there are two things that I was taught as a trainer of horses  and those things have held very true when passing on my riding instruction to adults and kids. 1) A horse is not a machine. It is an animal.  AND   2) A horse will do nothing it is asked unless it understands and trusts its rider. So many people, when they walk up to a horse,  treat it like they ...

Stencil of Trinity Parish Church I. I want to tell you a story. Don't worry, it's a true one,  but a story that I think is vitally important   both in history as well as an example to us today. And this story is about a small town in the 19th century  and about a guy named Henry. Now, Henry was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1820.  He was an intelligent young man,   even so much as to graduate from Brown University in 1842 at 22 years of age. But Henry's work in life was about to change for good.  Because God placed a calling on Henry's life   to the in the spread of the Gospel    as a missionary. Now, when you think "missionary" you might have the temptation  to think that Henry went to some far off place in the world,   like perhaps Asia or Africa. Instead, Henry went as a missionary to none other than  Texas!   He was a missionary to Texas,    specifically Washington Count...

I. "No slave can serve two masters;  for a slave will either hate the one and love the other,   or be devoted to the one and despise the other.    You cannot serve God and wealth."     [Luke 16:12-13 NRSV] Now, for you all who have been in church for many years  or for those who may have attended our 7 week "How to Read the Bible" class:   Did you notice something odd about what Jesus just said? Let's think about it again:  "No slave can serve two masters;   for a slave will either hate the one and love the other,    or be devoted to the one and despise the other.     You cannot serve God and wealth." Does anyone else think it is slightly odd that Jesus talks about wealth this way? I mean, wealth as a concept is a-moral:  in other words, wealth isn't a good thing nor a bad thing.   Wealth is simply a concept, often used to describe the state of one's bank account. But, friends, w...

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross Icon Holy Cross Day, Saturday, September 14, 2019 Trinity Episcopal Church, Searcy The Rev. Patricia Matthews When I was in fourth grade, I lived about three blocks away from my elementary school. Every morning, I would ride my bike down the road, all by myself. I felt pretty big. But one morning, as I pulled onto the school grounds, I hit the curb, fell off my bike, and landed on a sharp rock. I looked at my knees; both were skinned up and covered in dirt. Then I saw my left hand. It had a huge cut in it. I was scared. I was shaking all over. Now, if this had happened the year before, when I was just a little 3rd grader, I might have reacted differently – might have stayed on the ground, crying, hoping some adult would come help me. But I was a 4th grader, and even 40 years later, I distinctly remember the moment that I made the decision to stand up, dust off my knees, grab my bike, and start walking across the school yard. Blood was runn...