Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany
Most loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who care for us: Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Epiphany Eight
This work is inspired specifically by the passage: "Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties." I got to thinking about how our perception of the earth and it's place in the universe has changed over the centuries, and will no doubt change in the centuries to come. What remains however, in the midst of our anxious pursuit of "truth", is love.
The boy in the picture is my son Daniel, whom I love very, very much. He is sitting calmly holding the earth as if it were a toy. Behind him are a depiction of an ancient cosmological model, a photograph of a distant galaxy, and a drawing of a kitten that he did when he was three. Although I am fascinated by science, and I firmly believe humankind was meant to relentlessly pursue scientific knowledge, I also know that we can be blinded by our anxiety to discover the ultimate truth, the "theory of everything". After meditating on the Collect, I have come to realize that if I were to choose the picture that most represents the "truth", it would be the little drawing of the kitty.