Less Reading than Normal: Not the Report I'd Planned

I am off-plan for this week’s blog. I was supposed to report this week what I have been reading during March and I had planned to spend some time reading in the vast exegetical treasure chest which is the work of John Chrysostom. Alas, I did not read from the works of the “golden-mouthed” one. 

I did read this month. Just not what  I had hoped. Lot’s of sermon material reading. Just occasionally I go off on a wild hare and follow something interesting. I have been writing a lot lately. A lot, meaning beyond the normal work load of sermon, lesson, blog writing. When working on a long writing project I like to be reminded of the working habits of great writers from the past. I have long admired the work habits of the Victorian English novelist Anthony Trollope. One of things which set him apart was a strict schedule which was dictated by the fact that he had a full-time job. Every day he wrote two hours prior to going to his job as a postal inspector. For those two hours he “required of himself” that he write 250 words every 15 minutes. A regular, proscribed ritual which saw him produce an enormous amount of writing. I spent a significant amount of my time in bi-vocational ministry so I am well aware of how important planning, preparation, and process are when you are trying to take advantage of limited time. I also appreciate the need for regularity. I could have abandoned this week's blog since I was not able to discuss what I had originally hoped to write about. It's Thursday. If I want to maintain a regular blog, if I think it is important enough, If I am trying to increase circulation as much as possible--then it's better to write what I have to write rather than sink into the abyss of excuse and lament. 

Back to Trollope. After a little bit of research one evening I downloaded one of Trollope’s many works which are available in the public domain, and read that rascal. Went all the way through it in one night. The Title? Clergymen of the Church of England. And it is what the title claims. Trollope discusses everything form the various levels of clergy in the different kinds of churches in England; from Archbishops in their Cathedrals to Vicars in their (really somebody else’s) Parish. He talks about clerical garments, furnishing and decorating a church, how and how much the various clergy were paid and how that impacted the ability of the Church as a whole to do its job. He discusses architecture, the arrangement of the pulpit and in multi-clergy jurisdictions (Dean, Rector, Deacons) how and in what order they all should be seated. 

I found it a little intriguing. I’m not from a liturgical tribe so it is a little fascinating to read such a long discussion of what kind of surplice or stole a guy should wear. It was also interesting that Trollope who was a layman, made telling observations regarding the impact of these questions on the actual outcome of worship and pastoral care. It would be interesting to see whether a similarly situated layperson in our day and age, from any tradition, would be able to discuss in such detail the inner working of the professional clergy of their tradition; making appropriate recommendations for how they could improve their performance. 

That’s about it kids. I began to read Raymond Brown’s epic The Death of the Messiah but as yet, there is nothing to report. The important thing is to always be curious. Be intrigued. Be willing to investigate. Go places in your mind that others might fear to tread. Not only might you learn something but in so going perhaps you will blaze a trail for others.