For Want of a Comma

 The link to this week's live-streamed service is here.

Rev. Irwin's reference to L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables sent me to my "keeper" shelf to browse my collection. I chose Anne of Avonlea for a re-read. To my surprise the story contained a theological lesson. Davy Keith, an orphaned scamp that Anne has charge of, declared that there would be lots of jam in heaven. When questioned, he explained that his catchism declared that "God makes preserves, and redeems us." 

If you've ever considered dropping the commas in your writing, that statement should give you pause. For the grammatically and/or the theologically challenged, the line should read "God makes, preserves, and redeems us."

We don't hear much about catechisms these days, or memory work in general. Perhaps Google makes it too easy to "look it up" without having the words in your heart, although in Deut. 11:18 we are commanded to "lay up these words in your heart."

If you don't have a copy of a catechism in your home or church, there are many examples on the internet. Follow this link for the "The Westminster Shorter Catchism" which is one of the founding documents for the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Question 11 does mention "preserving" so maybe that's where Davy got confused.

People often ask where I get blog ideas. Sometimes it seems like serendipity or, to use a phrase popular in L. M. Montgomery's work, Divine Providence. This week was one of those. I began to write this post on Wednesday but hadn't developed a satisfactory ending for it. Then, on Sunday morning, Rev. Irwin preached on creeds, or statements of faith. If you want to explore the subject further, I recommend listening to the Sunday sermon. The link is at the top of this post. 

♰♰♰♰♰

When we celebrated our grads at the end of June, Quinn was unable to attend. However, he has sent along his graduation picture for the blog. Congratulations, Quinn. Best of luck in the coming year.