Mtr Mary Trainor

Nothing is little in God’s service….

Dear friend,

Few of us could be found guilty of craving the “lesser” life. We might pass the word “lesser” among us, each of us defining the word differently. But some of our words I believe will overlap. Words such as poor, unsuccessful, unpopular, chronically ill, homely, homeless. No one I know craves a lesser life such as these words suggest.

In the 1950s a common question for youngsters--perhaps it still is today--was, “What do you want to be when you grow up.” President. Movie star. Baseball player. Police officer. Firefighter. Or the generic “rich and famous.” Not one of my childhood pals ever talked about looking forward to being a down-and-outer, or a hobo (‘50s-speak for homeless), or a criminal.

Today, in its celebration of saints, the Church honors George Herbert. This brilliant man, born into a wealthy and aristocratic Welsh family, was capable of reaching high into social circles. Some say he even aspired to do so as a younger man. But another way was waiting.

He began theological studies in his 20s, sat for holy orders, and became an Anglican deacon in 1626. He was ordained a priest in 1630, at age 37, and was sent to serve two small rural parishes a distance from Salisbury. He served not in a massive cathedral, or a well-heeled parish. No, with unfailing commitment, he served small, humble communities. He wrote and lived the words: Nothing is little in God’s service.

The Gospel selected for Herbert’s recognition is most suitable: The beatitudes from Matthew. You may recall, Jesus teaches these principles to the crowds: Blessed are the poor in spirit. Those who mourn. The meek. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The merciful. The pure in heart.

The beatitudes express kingdom values, values that have rarely been popular in our time, perhaps in any time. Life, if we let it, can sway and lure us into desiring, or even believing we need, more. Before too long, being a servant in the vein of George Herbert is less and less appealing.

It isn’t that success and fame and popularity are bad unto themselves. But the desire of them can place us near dangerous waters. And even if we stay the kingdom course, the simpler way of God’s service, we’re regularly tempted by the new thing that glitters, promising more, without cost--or so the promise goes.

George Herbert was not only a priest, but also a writer, whose collection of poetry, The Temple, was published posthumously. Some of his words have traveled centuries to now, included among the hymns we know and love. One of my favorites is Number 592 in our 1982 hymnal. Here’s the first verse:

Teach me, my God and King,
In all things thee to see,
And what I do in anything,
To do it as for thee.

George Herbert was thirty-nine years old when he died. He never made it big, as a priest or a writer. But he served his congregants and his God faithfully, without wavering. He lived what he believed: Nothing is little in God’s service.

Mtr Mary