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Reading
2 Timothy 3:3-4
For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
Devotion
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| Icon found here: http://deaconessalexander.georgiaepiscopal.org/ |
This week's artwork is an icon written by liturgical artist Tobias Stanislas Haller, BSG, a retired Episcopal priest and member of the Brotherhood of St. Gregory. Icons are 'written' not painted or drawn. Icons are meant to be scripture in visual form. In this iconographer is portraying the light of the Holy Spirit working in a particular follower of Jesus, the late 19th century/early 20th century Deaconess Anna Alexander whose feast day was yesterday in the church's calendar.
I first learned of Deaconess Alexander (1865-1947) in 2018 when she was the champion of Forward Movement's "March Madness" in which saints of the church compete in brackets reminiscent of the NCAA basketball tournament. She was and is the first and only African American Deaconess ordained in the Episcopal Church--think about that for a moment. I wonder about her growing up, the daughter of a slave, in coastal Georgia following the Civil War. I wonder about her labors as she was surrounded by reconstruction. The divisions in the church and society in 1907 when she was ordained were real and harsh. The next bishop refused to acknowledge her ordination and gave little support to African American congregations. I imagine the 'itching ears' of all these agendas other than that of God's reconciling love...of calamities, calumnies, and cacophonies...And yet, she labored on, teaching, finding aid for people who were hungry regardless of ethnicity, and shepherding the faith development of children.
The Icon reveals something of the indefatigable nature of the Holy Spirit. There is something of an unrelenting determination about her. The eyes intrigue me. It is as if one looks directly at the viewer and the other looks beyond, seeing something more.
In our own times when there are so many voices competing for attention, itching at our ears (and our eyes through the feeds on our phones!), may we remember to look beyond them for truth, turn aside from myths, and live a life characterized by God's love.
Prayer
Loving God, who called Anna Alexander as a deaconess in your church: Grant us the wisdom to teach the gospel of Christ to whomever we meet, by word and by example, that all may come to the enlightenment that you intend for your people; through Jesus Christ, our Teacher and Savior. Amen. (Lesser Feasts and Fasts)