“Now is the winter of our discontent

Made glorious summer by this sun of York;

And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house

My lovely little Baptist church recently held its Annual Christmas Prayer Dinner.  We received amongst us some very special guests – Ten seminarians who are in training for the priesthood, accompanied by their priestly mentor, Father Chris Cook, and who live in the old convent at St. Matthew’s.  It proved to be a heavenly admixture!

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”  So wrote Charles Dickens in his classic novel, “A Tale of Two Cities,” published in 1859.  Some things never change; not even 158 years later!

Every church has a signature reality that gives shape and substance to its existence.  The Mass is central to Roman Catholic life.  Classically Reformed churches take their focal point to be the doctrine of God’s sovereignty.  Pentecostal churches believe in the practical and powerful applications of the spiritual gifts to the body and work of Christ. 

They’re charming; are they not?  Falling leaves; that is.  I know that they make a mess, but they breed nostalgic reminiscences, just as spring flowers stir romantic feelings.  I believe that it was Soren Kierkegaard who remarked that a young man’s thoughts looked earthward in spring and heavenward in autumn.  Do allow; please, for this middle-aged man’s ramblings to be directed to earthly concerns but all the while be reflective of heavenly considerations.

The poet W.H. Auden wrote with deep poignancy as peace gave way to war, effective September 1, 1939:  “I sit in one of the dives/ On Fifty-second Street/ Uncertain and afraid/As the clever hopes expire/Of a low dishonest decade:/Waves of anger and fear/Circulate over the bright/And darkened lands of the earth,/Obsessing our