The other day I say an impressive sight: a man walking with his dog, but no leash was
evident. It was impressive because there
were plenty of distractions, both people and cars. Yet here was this rather remarkable dog
walking along stride for stride with his owner.
They came to the busy corner (and yes there is a busy street corner in
Gander – it was there while waiting for the left turn arrow that I observed the
man with his dog) and the dog looked up at the man to see what he was going to
do, noticed he was going to take the turn, and without missing a beat turned
and continued on. Remarkable.
I felt that the dog was devoted to (‘loved’) his owner and
was intent on staying with him, while the owner must have felt pride and joy in
the trustworthy companion. They were
free with each other, enjoying each other.
The sight immediately reminded me of a phrase in the second collect of
Morning Prayer, “…whose service is perfect freedom.”
A few years ago I was attending a provincial synod where a
professor from our theological college was appointed to lead the morning Bible
Study. She asked the group of bishops,
clergy, and laity, “Why do we serve God?”
My first and enduring reaction was, “How could an Anglican not know the
answer to that question?” I’m not saying
that we shouldn’t explore why serving God IS perfect freedom, or how not serving
God enslaves us, but the professor continued with some rambling prose that in
my opinion missed the mark, speaking about the trendy social justice themes of current
Anglican bent. The answer, the truth of
the Scriptures has been presented to us for generations in the great contemplative
rhythm of Anglican worship, “Whose service is perfect freedom.” I
wish that I had seen that beautiful mutt walking WITH its master prior to the
meeting. It would have been an excellent
analogy. As I recall, Jesus did not call
his disciples friends until they had exemplified significant devotion and
obedience.
O GOD, who art the author of peace and lover of concord,
in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life,
whose service is perfect freedom:
Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our
enemies;
that we, surely trusting in thy defence,
may not fear the power of any adversaries;
through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
LORD have Mercy, Brian+
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