The phrase “completely calm” often appears in our conversations as more of a wish than a description. The public is urged to remain calm in the face of distress, tragedy, or danger. Families are asked to be calm at the hearing of difficult news and friends offer the advice at the beginning of a difficult conversation.

1+1+1=1 Reducing the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity primarily to mathematics leads to absurdity. (Reducing anything significant to mathematics almost always does.)

Last week was a very full one. We entered into the worship service on Easter Sunday having taken a long route through Lent and Palm Sunday to the services of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Lent has (by grace, through fasting) loosed us from the distraction of good things that can delay us on our journey and has dislodged some things (by grace, through repentance) that so often entangle us as we walk. And so, we journey this week with Jesus, retracing the steps of his final days and hours with a clearer mind and sharper focus, waiting to see again, as for the first time, the marvel of His Holy Week.

BOGO. I’ve never understood how that acronym gets used. I see and hear it frequently. My grocery store loves it. It means “buy one, get one.” I know that. But that doesn’t seem to be newsworthy. Most (all?) economic transactions don’t let you “get one” until you “buy one.” I’m told by people who care for me in spite of my questions that the word free is implied and understood. By most (all?) people. BOGO actually means BOGO (Free).

Charles Dickens was paid by the word. This helps explain why his novels are so rich in their detailed description and why the dialogue between characters multiplies from scene to scene. A writer has to pay the bills. Adjectives are cash cows. It is interesting then that when he describes Ebenezer Scrooge’s joy in Christmas past, he describes Fezziwig’s Christmas Ball with such economy of language. He conjures for us an image of a single evening made joyous by the generous hospitality of a happy couple. From first impressions, we may think Scrooge has a low capacity for joy. Perhaps because of his life’s early grief, he has numbed himself to these happy moments. Or it may be that the purity of joy in that moment is so tangible, words are not the main things. Scrooge discerns in hindsight that the generous actions of Fezziwig more than surpass the expenditure of wealth or gold.

This won’t surprise you. Automated customer service can be tedious. “Press 1 for this. Press 2 for that. Our menu has changed.” I have learned that if you purposefully mumble your responses or just sit quietly, you are transferred to a real person faster.

This Sunday, we will celebrate the Feast of All Saints. In preparation, I encourage you to think of at least three persons you can name with thanksgiving who have already entered into eternal life. Perhaps one person from the pages of scripture or church history; one who is a friend; and the one person you most miss this year. All too often, in our broken world, we can name far more than three. Thankfully, in a world charged and changed through Jesus’ resurrection, the days of our separation are irreversibly counting down. This feast of All Saints gives us an opportunity to remember and reorient to the mystery of Christ and his body, the church. Our scriptures for Sunday highlight this good news as well as these holy people that we know by experience and by reputation through the love of God. The Gospel reading originally appointed for Sunday raises a question often asked as we hear Jesus’ words to the scribes and Pharisees. While all of Matthew chapter 23 clarifies Jesus’ intent, you can look into the window of the problem in verse 9, where Jesus says, “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.”

Do you have a reservation? Getting a table for dinner on your birthday, or getting to see the doctor on an afternoon often requires a reservation. This seems simple enough. Plan ahead, call ahead, and things are ready when you arrive. First come, first served.

The Anglican Mission just published an interview with Father Carl that you will enjoy. You can follow the link here, to find out his answers to some great questions. “What person has most impacted your life, and why?” “What is one accomplishment in the past that you are proud of?” “Where have you seen the Lord working recently?”