From Walking With Integrity:
It was a lovely evening, St. Mary's Church Putney was crammed full, the music was beautiful, and there he stood, all alone in front of the altar.
He bowed his head and said, "Lord, I feel like a boy."
It was a reference to the reading from Jeremiah 1.4-9, read by Susan Russell:
"Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
`Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.'
Then I said, `Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how
to speak, for I am only a boy.' But the Lord God said to me,
`Do not say, `I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to
whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I
command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with
you to deliver you, says the Lord.'
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched
my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
"Now I have put my words in your mouth.'"
As he spoke, the roar of cameras clicking and the strobe of camera flashes filled the sacred space as the still photographers of the secular press took advantage of the 90 seconds granted them to take photos of the bishop of New Hampshire doing this radical thing -- preaching in a church in England.
Read the rest of this beautiful account by Katie Sherrod of Gene preaching at St. Mary's Church in Putney. Yes, this is the service that was interrupted by the heckler.
Thanks to LP for calling this to my attention.
Completely off topic,
ReplyDeleteHappy Bastille Day ma cher Grandmere!
Will you be joining President Sarkozy and me for champagne and cigars again this year?
The sad thing is that +Gene's sermons really are considered radical for our church, when they should be standard. He's a throwback to the old church, before Constantine and the governments took over. Men of his caliber should be radical for society but standard issue for the episcopate.
ReplyDeleteTWE, you are absolutely right. He's very much a throwback, steeped in the Bible, often speaking from an evangelical (but not literalist) viewpoint.
ReplyDelete