Notes From Patmos 08.07.24

Uniontown, Al in the 1800’s through the 1920’s was a very well to do town in the Blackbelt of Alabama.  It boasted of a wooden plank road and department stores and other amenities reserved for prosperous communities.  However, the Cotton Boll Weevil did the community in, destroying the crops of the farms and plantations, and within a few decades leaving only a shell of the town.  In present day, the town center is crumbling and the remaining townsfolk do not enjoy the same prosperity as in days of old.

While in college studying plant biology, I was introduced to a concept that deepened my faith tremendously.  The concept or thesis is this: human communities go from order to chaos (think Lord of the Flies), while nature goes from chaos to order (if you drop a bomb, or clear cut a tract of land, given time, an ordered and stable ecosystem will develop).  This idea was important to me for two reasons- the first is the knowledge I learned in Vacation Bible School- that creation is not fallen, but subject to the Fall through interactions with humans. The second is the idea I want to share today- that human communities take a tremendous amount of work to create or maintain order, and can very easily fall into chaos and disorder.  And the same is true for the human soul. I am very drawn to places and things that once were, but are no more for that very reason… it touches places deep within my soul to see the struggles, to enjoy the efforts that have left us wonderful advancements and beautiful things… but at the same time, these places have succumb to the fallen nature of humans and chaos. 

Our souls are the same.  If we are not vigilant, if we do not work hard to maintain order, we too will fall into chaos and darkness.  We fight this through an active life of prayer, making worship a priority, and being out in the world preforming work of mercy and charity.  We also have to work hard to maintain friendships in our personal lives, and also in the life of the parish family.

All of these things are very fragile and demand our efforts and attention to maintain order and holiness.  If we neglect these things of God, our soul and being will share the same fate as the photos above.  So as you go through your week, ponder these things, and remember that order and beauty and holiness require daily work… remember that our fallen nature will land us in chaos if we choose to blind ourselves or neglect our spiritual lives- which is the only thing that can provide lasting order and peace. 

See you around the parish,

Jeff+