Natalie's Grace Notes

  Friends, we’re now in the 4th week of this Lenten sermon series about the seven deadly sins. So far we’ve talked about pride, greed, and envy. Now this week we’re talking about sloth! Notice how I didn’t pick “gluttony” for a week when we’re having a potluck after church? Sloth stands out for me among the seven deadly sins for a few reasons, the first and primary among them being that we don’t have a great understanding of what “the sin of sloth” is. And that became even more clear to me when I researched it in depth. Five, and arguably six, of the words we use to describe the other deadly sins–pride, greed, envy, lust, wrath, and even gluttony–are words that might sound old-timey, but that we still use in common parlance. But we don’t tend to describe any behavior or thoughts as “slothful.” If anything, “sloth” isn’t a sin to us, it’s a really, really cute animal that moves so notoriously slowly that moss starts to grow on its fur. So if “sloth” is a sin, then it’s the sin of be...

  Friends, we’re now in week 3 of this Lenten sermon series I put together about none other than the seven deadly sins! An intimidating premise, for sure, but I hope we find some light here together. The ancient Church taught that all sin flows out of these seven errors of judgment. First piece of Good News? We’re all in this together. These ways of wrong thinking are universal. Second piece of Good News? If we all err together, then we can all help one another make better choices. The third of the seven deadly sins that we’re looking at together is envy. The Oxford dictionary defines “envy” as “a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church employs the Latin word “invidia” to describe envy, and adds that not only is envy a longing for what someone else has, but, worse, a feeling that if you can’t have what they have, then you’d like to take theirs away so they won’t have it either. Yik...

  Friends, we’re now in the second week in the season of Lent, and the second installment of this sermon series about the seven deadly sins! The sin we’re talking about this week is greed. First, one thing I wanted to follow up on about last week: we talked about how a 4th Century monk by the name of Evagrius Ponticus first suggested the notion of eight evil thoughts, which Pope Gregory I followed up on two hundred years later, as seven deadly sins. The question came up: if this list of fundamental evils, from which all other bad things flow, was originally eight, then what was the eighth sin? What was taken off? Here’s the answer: Ponticus taught that the eight evil thoughts were: Pride Avarice (or greed) Gluttony Sloth Lust Wrath Vainglory And SADNESS A few changes happened two centuries later when Pope Gregory I revisited this idea. He combined “pride” (the notion that you’re better than other people) with “vainglory” (the notion that your image and popularity are super importan...

  Friends, we’re now in the first Sunday of the season of Lent. This season means a number of different things to different people depending on what kind of church you went to growing up, and what the folks around you did during Lent. For some of y’all, “Lent” means “no more chocolate”, and thus great sadness. For someone like my Dad, “Lent” means “Oh dear, that means we’re eating fish every Friday until April.” My Dad doesn’t like fish, so that’s bad news to him. For some of you, though, “Lent” means “go get a fish dinner every Friday at the Avon church,” which is good news! Because you like fish! To each their own. To some of you, “Lent” might not mean very much, because you don’t do much different this time of year. For others still, “Lent” means engaging in a book study, or daily scripture readings, or more prayer.  Whatever Lent means for you, I hope that, over the next six weeks, we can shed what doesn’t help us grow, and deepen in what brings us closer to God. As for me...

Friends, as I’m sure you well know, this weekend marks the observation of a relatively divisive holiday: Valentine’s Day. Some of you are thinking, Wait, how is Valentine’s Day divisive? And if you think that, you’re very lucky. Count your blessings.  For Sean and I, Valentine’s Day is the day we gird our loins. Our kids come home from school, and everything seems quiet and normal for a mere moment. Then the goody bags of candy erupt over every flat surface in our home. A tsunami of sweets. I spend three to four days on average walking around my house with a trash bag collecting wrappers, the cards the kids didn’t read, the sticks from the lollipops, candies that were discarded after one bite, fruit candies that are now stuck to tables, walls, and floors, and slime (because some kid passes that out every year). FEMA could learn a few things from me. Then, of course, the effects that high levels of sugar have on our dear children. Friday night, I went in Lily’s room to tuck her into...