A Simple Message
There are many reasons for slipping into simplicity.... Simplicity
makes it possible for life to become uncomplicated enough so that
the mind can become clear, revealing what is truly important and
fulfilling. It helps clarify the reality of ownership in life: what
we own, who/what owns us, what duties snare us, what skills claim
us, what passions possess us. Such clarity makes it possible for
us to make choices for truly living rather than only half-living.
One of the early desert fathers, Abba Moses, said to his disciples,
"Sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything." That
is a bit austere for 21st Century America, but there is a principle
in that advice that should not be lost. Because our lives are so
filled to the brim with things, people, responsibilities, demands,
time commitments, emotions, questions and passions, we seldom experience
the luxury of seeing what is really deep within us. When the pot
of our life is continually stirred with complexity, we move through
life at a slow boiling point. We end up feeling like a mixed-up
14-bean soup, rather than a cool clear glass of water over ice, or
a sage green, soft, smooth slice of avocado. The desert father's
advice reminds us of the importance of 'singularity' in coming to
an understanding of what it means to be truly human, truly alive.

--From the essay "Simply Satisfied"
by The Rev. Canon Renée Miller

Read the sermon in its entirety.