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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2014

Psalm 18:1-20; Isaiah 2: 12-22; Luke 20: 27-40

On a visit to Edinburgh Castle this summer, I found my definition of “fortress” completely changed. Castle Rock, on which the castle sits, overlooks not only Edinburgh but views the Scottish lowlands for miles and miles around. It is not surprising that this vantage point has held a fortress for a thousand years. I had expected the strong, high wall with its crenelated battlements. After all, it’s not a fortress with walls behind which to hide and from which to fire one’s weapons.
No, what surprised me was the layout of the fortress itself. Within its walls are 23 square miles of other things: weapons storage, and barracks, and kitchens, and a hospital, and a pet cemetery, of all things. All human needs accounted for. Sweetest of all was the 11th-century St. Margaret’s Chapel, a tiny place of spiritual refuge, the holy-of-holies of the fortress.
Now when I read that the psalmist calls God “my rock, fortress, and stronghold in whom I take refuge” I see something new. I see God not only as a place to hide, but a place in which I can live, and move, and have my being.
God, my rock in whom I take refuge: open my eyes to see you not as a place to hide, but a place in which to dwell. Amen.
The Rev. Cathy Tyndall Boyd, ’06
Trinity Episcopal Church
Marble Falls, Texas

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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Cathy Boyd is a native Missourian, lifelong Episcopalian, and mother to two fine adult offspring, a daughter and son. Her path to the priesthood started in junior high school, and is inter-woven with 33 years of marriage to another priest, David Boyd. For several years she served as chaplain at Trinity Episcopal School in Austin. At present she is Associate Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Marble Falls, TX.

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