EVERY GOOD CHURCH has something special
EVERY GOOD CHURCH has something special to recommend it. The architecture perhaps. Or the beauty of the grounds. History, tradition. The feeling of spiritual uplift one gets from attending. Our Church O’ The Pines, under the big pine grove by the Mississippi, has all of these. But in truth, my favorite feature is the virtue of the congregation. Oh, I know, that may sound a bit like bragging, but if a parson/caretaker cannot brag on his own church members, then what good is he?
Our members possess many virtues, but of them all, perhaps my favorite is simple honesty. They are who they are, and they employ no lies or pretense. None. (Oh, a blue Jay may occasionally imitate a red tailed hawk, but that’s just rascally good fun). Other than that, a red pine is a red pine, reaching for the sun. A gray squirrel is a gray squirrel. A deer, a deer. A fox, a fox. An otter, an otter. A rock is a rock and a trillium is a trillium. And in all cases, blooming, growing, singing, walking, every being expresses itself in the context of one extraordinarily simple concept. Honesty. Honesty. Honesty. Going out the cabin door is like going for a walk in a world of truth.
And what a fine thing—what a relief and a comfort—that is. Good Sabbath to you…