Coming Upon the True Ease of Myself
- davidwperk
- Jan 17, 2024
- 5 min read
Devotional Reflection, Wednesday, January 17, 2024
The week of the second Sunday after Epiphany
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s Gospel
26They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.’ 27John answered, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. 28You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, “I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.” 29He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. 30He must increase, but I must decrease.’
You will find the full text of today’s Gospel at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 945)
AM Psalm 38; PM Psalm 119:25-48
Gen. 9:18-29; Heb. 6:1-12; John 3:22-36
Today we celebrate the Feast of Antony. (See below.)
David’s Reflections
Join me in musing over these lines from Theodore Roethke’s lyric poem, “The Rose.”
Among the half-dead trees, I came upon the true ease of myself,
As if another man appeared out of the depths of my being,
And I stood outside myself,
Beyond becoming and perishing,
A something wholly other,
As if I swayed out on the wildest wave alive,
And yet was still.
And I rejoiced in being what I was: *
Roethke’s poetic reverie express a newly discovered certainty and inner congruity: “I came upon the true ease of myself,” and “I rejoiced in being what I was.” That sense of inner harmony and congruity with oneself can be elusive even in our best moments. The poet’s words speak to a basic hunger and a basic drive in the human spirit.
Who am I, why am I in the world, what am I to become? Reading this Gospel again created the feeling that John knew who he was, why he was in the world, and what he was to become. He had come upon “the true ease of himself.” He lived with a deep conviction that he was not God’s anointed savior, the Messiah, and that his role was to prepare his people for the Messiah’s arrival. John was not taking his identity from someone else’s expectations of him or from someone else’s understanding of success. His self-understanding came out of his inner life, out of being in touch with his own basic nature and out of listening to that persistent inner voice of the Spirit.
The figure of John the Baptist, with his root certainty about himself and his mission in life, challenges us to keep asking those basic questions until the answers come. What if those answers reveal that my vocation is other than that to which I am devoting my time and energy? What if coming on the true ease of myself demands tough relational and vocational choices that require courage and risk? What will I do? The God who is responsible for John's sense of identity and mission specializes in bringing people to wholeness. Can we entrust our fate to that God and go wherever those persistent inner voices take us?
As Roethke put it:
Among the half-dead trees, I came upon the true ease of myself,
As if another man appeared out of the depths of my being,
*Theodore Roethke, “The Rose,” Collected Poems, (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966), p. 199.
Collect of the Day, The Second Sunday after the Epiphany
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 215)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Antony, monastic (died 356 CE).
Collect of the Feast of Antony
O God, as you by your Holy Spirit enabled your servant Antony to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; so give us grace to follow you with pure hearts and minds, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Grace
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 100)
For a Church Convention
Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel in our diocese for the renewal and mission of your Church. Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 255)
A Collect for Early Evening
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, creator of the changes of day and night, giving rest to the weary, renewing the strength of those who are spent, bestowing upon us occasions of song in the evening. As you have protected us in the day that is past, so be with us in the coming night; keep us from every sin, every evil, and every fear; for you are our light and salvation, and the strength of our life. To you be glory for endless ages. Amen. (BCP, 113)
A Collect for Mission
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your Name. Amen. (BCP, 101)
Daily Office Gospel, John 3:22-36
22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. 23John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized 24—John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison. 25Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. 26They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.’ 27John answered, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. 28You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, “I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.” 29He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. 30He must increase, but I must decrease.’ 31The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. 33Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. 34He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.
Daily Offices in The Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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