The Rev. Noah Van Niel

September 16^th, 2018

Proper 19 (B): Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 116:1-8; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38

Oh, to vex me, contraries meet in one:
Inconstancy unnaturally hath begot
A constant habit; that when I would not
I change in vows, and in devotion.

Those are the opening lines of Holy Sonnet XIX by the 17^th century Anglican priest and poet, John Donne. No other poet, at least in my opinion, was as good at capturing the warring “contraries” that meet in a single soul—the “inconstancy” that seems inscribed in the DNA of every human being. In fact, inconstancy, he says, is the only constant thing about him. Against his own will and desire, he changes in “vows and devotions,” vexed, as it were, by his fate to be fickle. It’s a theme articulated rather pointedly here but it also lies at the heart of much of his other poetry and spiritual writings.

I experienced this same frustration at my own inability to remain true to my highest wishes and desires, when I was coming to faith as a teenager. Continue reading →

The Rev. Noah Van Niel

September 2^nd, 2018

St. John the Evangelist

Proper 17 (B): Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9; Psalm 15; James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Our first reading this morning came from the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Old Testament. The word “Deuteronomy” is a Greek word meaning “the second law giving” (deuteros—second; nomos—law). And in large part it’s a repetition of the laws Moses spelled out for the people of Israel earlier in the Old Testament, in books like Exodus and Leviticus. Why then, you might be asking, would they need a second run through of those tedious laws? It seems a bit redundant even for The Bible. Here’s why: Continue reading →