Yesterday my wife Nancy underwent gall bladder surgery. It went splendidly, without complications. While waiting in the surgical lounge I was joined by friends, who lifted my spirits with their companionship and prayers. The doctor was compassionate as well as competent. Now Nancy is home and resting peacefully, with every hope of a speedy recovery and relief from pain that has, without our knowing the cause, afflicted her for some years.
"How shall I repay the Lord", inquires the psalmist in Psalm 116, "for all the good things that have been done for me?" Given the blessings that have been heaped upon me in my life, what excuse could I possibly find for not living more joyfully, passionately, faithfully, and generously?
Today I attended the funeral of The Rev. Ann Kramer, an outstanding priest who, after having escaped from Nazi Germany, converted to Christianity from Judaism. Ann was a keen intellectual and a passionate Christian at the same time, as well as a beloved wife and mother. I want to be that sort of priest and Christian myself, as well as parent, spouse, grandparent, and friend. I want to be part of a church that has the capacity to attract people like Ann Kramer to itself, and of a nation that rejects fascism as emphatically as she did, “not only with her lips (to paraphrase The Book of Common Prayer) “but with her life.”
“How shall I repay the LORD?” Following Ann Kramer’s example, I will seek to live with authenticity and love, and joining with the ancient Hebrew author of Psalm 116, "I will lift up the cup of salvation * and call upon the Name of the LORD."
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