Fr Ben Garren

For we offer to Him His own, announcing consistently the fellowship and union of the flesh and Spirit. For as the bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they receive the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of the resurrection to eternity.
~Irenaeus of Lyons

Dear Siblings in Christ

Sometimes the greatest mercy we can give ourselves is a moment of rest. This is especially true when the situation we find ourselves in is chaotic and stressful. Just over a month ago I was gathered with our camp staff for training week when another school shooting occurred. Two weeks ago, I was gathered with Young Adult and Campus Ministry leaders when a mass shooting occurred in the parish hall of an Episcopal Church. Last week as I served as a chaplain to our Arts and Music week at Chapel Rock… the supreme court’s decision regarding Roe vs Wade was made official. Many of us, sitting comfortably in the space our diocese has set aside for retreat, watched videos of our friends being pelted with rubber bullets and tear-gassed in Phoenix, waiting with concern for those critical posts that they had gotten away safely. The mercy of a moments rest seemed illusive, the attempt to have such almost sinful, but looking ahead my fear is that we are headed into chaotic and stressful times where each moment of rest will be a precious gift.

Amid all these situations grace was found in that our schedule called us into the Daily Office and the Celebration of the Eucharist. These moments of rest that are the mercy of Christian Discipleship. Their critical importance in our lives not as obligations but as moments of restoration become clear as the world’s tumult seeks to drain us of all we have. Irenaeus, whose feasts we celebrate today, reminds us that the Eucharist is what connects us to the heavenly realities that are beyond the corruption and injustice we too often encounter in this world. More than connect us, it is where we go to transform the very relationship of ourselves and the world around us, the space where we are nourished to bring these things into closer relationship with the justice God promises for all in need.

As we move ahead into not so certain times ahead be sure to enter into our time of worship together and your time of personal devotion… as spaces where the mercy of rest can manifest itself in our lives. Continue to bring our simple gifts of bread, wine, and ourselves to the altar of God so that we can be part of sanctifying the world. These are resources the church has maintained for us especially for times such as these.

Pax,
Ben