A Wide-Open Heart
Depending on our circumstances, life either feels rolled way out in front of us with years and years to work with or is unpredictable and short, with no time to waste. The more suffering and close calls one goes through the more uncertain one feels. We become convinced we never know what is around the bend. If you have been through some scrapes, not knowing whether you would escape, you might have a great conviction for making the most of your time.
The Book of Common Prayer has a prayer in the Burial Office that comes with wording from one of the great “Anglican Divines” of the seventeenth century. Jeremy Taylor, eventual Bishop of Down and Connor in Ireland, had been through some scrapes in the English Civil War, imprisoned several times. From his prayer below you will see why, with his elegant wording, he was sometimes called “The Shakespeare of the Divines”:
O God, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered: Make us, we beseech thee, deeply sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of life; and let thy Holy Spirit lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days; that, when we shall have served thee in our generation, we may be gathered unto our fathers, having the testimony of a good conscience….Amen. —BCP p. 504
His opening line acknowledges God’s days and mercies to be innumerable. We, however, are mortal, so in this prayer, we ask God to make us “deeply sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of our lives. We further ask the Spirit to lead us into living that leads toward communion with those who have come before us. We would like to make the most of our days which are too few, mindful of the privilege of choosing holiness. Shall we add that we have also the privilege of godly ministry? There is just no time to spare. We don’t mope about the shortness and uncertainty of life, we must carry an urgency and fervor to be active in God’s work.
The Epistle this Sunday is so strong. Paul, in his second letter to the Christians in Corinth, makes an appeal to them. His urgency for good work within our limited days is powerfully stated. He quotes Isaiah (49:8) as the prophet declares an acceptable time, a favorable time, a day of salvation is coming. Isaiah attests to God’s promise to help the faithful servant on that day. Paul uses this message of “now and today” and adds the context of his suffering, and that of his missionary partners, as he writes to his beloved flock, saying,
See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see-- we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:2-10)
He pushes to realize salvation with all to whom he is ministering, not knowing what is around the bend, and when it will end for him. His orientation, like God’s timetable, is “Now.” It reminds me of one of our poignant hymns, number 333 in our hymnal:
…Now the kneeling Now the plea Now the Father’s arms in welcome Now the hearing Now the power Now the vessel brimmed for pouring… Now the heart forgiven leaping Now the Spirit’s visitation Now the Son’s epiphany Now the Father’s blessing Now Now Now
Paul’s message is not a cold, conquest-oriented effort with them. It is a full-hearted and loving urgency at play. Our passage on Sunday ends with, “We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. There is no restriction in our affections. …In return—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also.” It is worth seeing the translation of J.B Phillips too: “Oh, dear friends in Corinth, we are hiding nothing from you and our hearts are completely open to you. …Do reward me (I talk to you as though you were my own children) with the same complete candor!”
The uncertainty and shortness of life, the precariousness of things that surprise us, and the loving intentions of the bearer of God’s Good News all come together. The message comes from an open heart, showing us that now is the acceptable time; we see, now is the day of salvation! It makes me want to open wide my heart as well. Shall we then? Shall we open to the Word of Life, and receive?