Back when I was an Episcopalian, I was a traditionalist.  Today, I am a traditionalist.  I may have adopted a different tradition than the one I was following a few decades ago, but I honor the tradition which I follow.

But there are those who are not comfortable with tradition, and especially with traditionalists.  To some, a traditionalist is some individual, too hide-bound to explore, secure in saying that what was good enough for his or her ancestors is good enough for them.  I suggest that a different approach might be more appropriate, and perhaps more common.

Learning about tradition is learning about where you and those who preceded you have been. 

Questioning tradition is a usually-healthy way of exploring the basis of a tradition and seeing how it fits in to your life today.  There are occasions, and I describe one, in which you might discover that the basis isn't really there.  And there are other cases in which the basis is really there, especially if you follow the tradition in the same heart as those who first established it.

And on the way, there can be learning and growth!

Blessed Be!

It's Mabon!  And Mabon is one of the most powerful yet one of the least understood of all of the Sabbats.  Or, at least until you see how the mundane folks have re-arranged the calendar for their convenience.  Most countries have a Thanksgiving Day of some sort, many of them of that very name, but few are on Mabon.

Mabon is the second of the three harvest festivals.  Lammas was celebrated a while ago, and Samhain will follow soon enough.  And for now, we have Mabon!

Like all Sabbats, Mabon has its lessons for us to learn and take with us through the cycle of the year.  Like all Sabbats, Mabon has a contribution in each of the other Sabbats.

And especially, Mabon can help us to see why the year in a cycle is so important.  It teaches us some points that are missed in linear calendars in which the spirit of a holiday is pronounced dead the following day.

Blessed Be!

This is another one of those difficult topics, and for the usual reasons, just like charity is such a difficult topic.  Neither topic is actually difficult, except for the fact that people made them that way.

If a spiritual path actually works, then there can be miracles.  And I think we can agree that the one thing expected of any spiritual path is that its followers expect it to work.

Miracles can be a major source of contentment or contention, and therein lies so much of the problem.  I'll speak more on this in the podcast, especially the contention.  It might be one of the reasons why so many have turned their backs on religion. 

But how do you recognize a miracle?  If you were looking at a miracle right now, would you recognize it?

And if you want a miracle, would you know how to go about it?  And perhaps especially, would you know what to avoid?

Some have forgotten, some have re-discovered, and some knew but were told that they were wrong.  Sound familiar?

I think it might be good to see just how much we can do.

Blessed Be!

Among those who consider themselves clergy, there seems to be two lines of thought on this subject.  There are those who consider it a subject "too hot to handle," and those who don't seem to talk about very much else.  Please note that I am not limiting the scope to any particular kind of clergy. 

In the meantime, it is a subject that we're forced to deal with every day.  If you don't see a poster for some cause, there will be the annual charity drive at work.  And if it isn't the annual fund drive at work, there's the commercial on TV about a hungry child you can sponsor in some far-off land.  And if it isn't a TV commercial, someone will ask for "change" the next time you go downtown.  And as if that isn't enough, there's always the possibility that someone you know will be knocking on your door with either a tale of woe or some great venture for you to invest in.  And we still haven't mentioned the folks who go to church and have a plate passed at them, have we?

Meanwhile, you and your family have legitimate needs.  And if you gave in to all of the pitches you hear and see, you might find yourself in a situation in which you're doing without lunch so that someone else can have beer with their lunch!  And that's not fair.

And then there's the question of attitude.  Actually, it's a question of more than one attitude.  Those who give with the expectation of reward might be disappointed.  And that's a shame, because nature abhors a vacuum.  What goes out will have its place taken, but you've got to give karma some room to maneuver.  And there's the other expectation: the expectation of those who are receiving the charity.   That can wear things down.

And no wonder some consider the subject of charity "too hot to handle", especially in a religious context.

And maybe that's why I decided that I needed to say something about charity.  It's not like I can get away with avoiding it!

Blessed Be!