Things to See and Do in Babylon: Learn a Foreign Language!

“Stand up, son of man,” said the voice. “I want to speak with you.” The Spirit came into me as he spoke, and he set me on my feet. I listened carefully to his words. “Son of man,” he said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day. They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for remember, they are rebels—at least they will know they have had a prophet among them." Ezekiel 2:1-5

Bishop Fred Borsch used to joke, "What the Episcopal Church needs is a one-armed theologian. Someone who can't keep saying, 'On the other hand...'"

If you are a long-time Episcopalian, you've been bred to speak a milquetoast dialect of "tolerance, context, inclusion" and other "nice" words. Most of us in the clergy ranks have been bred to be politically correct and to people-please.

But here in exile, we can learn a new language! It is God's language, spoken by the prophets and most of all by Jesus Christ, the Word-made-flesh.

Learning to say, "Thus says the Lord" is surprisingly easy but it won't always make friends and influence people in the short term.

But it will deepen your friendship with God and influence you to be more the wonderful child your Heavenly Father designed you to be.

"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." Mark 8:36-38