Esse Quam Videri

Good morning. It is Sunday, July 6, 2014.

Today is Fried Chicken Day. Yum! Just might have to do that.

Yesterday was a mixed bag. In some ways, it was pretty good. But Christi did a lot of running around in the late morning, early afternoon, helping her mother out, yet again. The church service went pretty well, in spite of mixed feelings before it began. The rehearsal was rough (I was only listening, not involved), but when the music actually happened, for the most part, it went pretty well. There were less than twenty people there, though, as a lot of people were out for various reasons. The prayer times that were interspersed with the music went pretty well, but I think, for future reference, we shouldn’t break it up quite like that. I’m not sure. There were some awkward times, when people weren’t sure if they should be standing or sitting, and I didn’t want to tell them to sit every time we prayed, as I thought they might begin to feel like a “Jack-in-the-box.” We’ll probably adjust a little, if we do that kind of service again.

Stephanie spent another night with her friend Megan, and they have decided that they are both going to come with us to my parents’ house today. That’s a new development, but not entirely surprising. 🙂 So we will be heading that way at around 11:00 this morning.

(Source: This Day In History)

It was on this date in 1933 that the first Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The idea was to “bolster the sport and improve its reputation during the darkest years of the Great Depression.” Unfortunately, it is still happening every year, breaking up any potential momentum that any given team might be experiencing. But that’s just my opinion. It doesn’t help any that Bud Lite (the “commissioner” not the beer) decided a few years back to give the winner of the annual game home-field advantage during the World Series. The Wild Card team should NEVER have home field advantage in the World Series!! And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

Today’s birthdays include John Paul Jones (the war hero, not the keyboard player for Led Zeppelin), Burt Ward, Geoffrey Rush, Bill Haley, Janet Leigh (shower girl from Psycho), Ned Beatty, Merv Griffin, Adam Busch, Allyce Beasley, Dave Allen, Sebastian Cabot, Pat Paulsen, and Della Reese.

Burt Ward played “Robin” in the sixties TV series, Batman. I was a huge fan of Burt Ward’s Robin when I was a kid. Here is a clip I found on You Tube of Burt auditioning for the part of Robin in 1965. Burt is 69 today.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
Psalm 86:11

(From The Divine Hours)

Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
Psalm 96:2-3
Let my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word! Let my plea come before you; deliver me according to your word.
Psalm 119:169-170
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Psalm 90:1-2

“Lord, make me have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never
fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your
loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

Today’s reading in Reflections for Ragamuffins is “The Way of Integrity.”

In this “way of integrity,” there are no grounds for boasting, because “it is the work of the Spirit within us.” That is easy to say, of course, but we must remember that “without the Holy Spirit we cannot even see that Jesus is risen.” The way of integrity calls “the disciple to rigorous honesty about his attitudes, values, lifestyle, and personal relationships.” Sadly, it seems that honesty is a rare quality, “seldom found in society or in the church.”

“Like the alcoholic who denies he has a drinking problem, many of us have been deluding ourselves for so long that dishonesty and self-deception have become an accepted way of life.”

We must get away from the habit of “seeming to be,” rather than actually being. “Esse quam Videri” is attributed to Saint Gregory Nazianzen. (It may have originated with Cicero.) It means “to be rather than seem to be.” What this means for me is that pretense and sham cannot be enough to get by; pious thoughts cannot replace “putting on an apron and washing dirty feet;” and neurosis cannot be “an adequate substitute for suffering.”

. . . who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.
Mark 12:40

Father, help me to be more honest, both with myself and everyone else around me. May I never put on pretense or sham, in an effort to convince others that I am really what I say I am. May I live out the phrase that is the title of this entry, “esse quam videri.” Help me to be rather than seem to be. I cannot do this without your Spirit enabling me. Therefore, I pray that you fill me with your Spirit on a daily basis.

I pray for this day, that we will have a safe trip to Mineral Wells and back, and that all will have a good time as we visit with my parents. Then give us good rest for the week of work ahead, that we might work from our rest.

Regardless of your belief system, life would be better for all if we would “be rather than seem to be.” Honesty and integrity are worthy qualities.

Grace and peace, friends.