Sylvain Reynard's Blog, page 2
March 12, 2025
Lenten Readalong #2
Dear Everyone,
Thank you for joining me on this year’s Lenten Readalong. I’m enjoying the reading and am grateful for your comments and reflections.
I approach Lent as an opportunity to develop spiritual discipline – to spend time daily in prayer, in the reading of Scripture, and in silent reflection. I think of Lent as a pilgrimage, where I endeavour to learn something new and important. It’s with this spirit that I approach our Lenten reading of “Three Simple Rules.”
This week, we will read the chapter, “Do No Harm.” Many of you will recognize this principle as part of the practice of medicine, but the principle is also followed by many people in their interactions with other human beings, with animals, and with the environment.
We may be tempted to think of “Do No Harm” as a rule other people should follow and quickly point fingers when they fail to do so. But as this week’s reading reminds us, the rule must be applied to ourselves first. How can we expect others to follow this rule, when we don’t?
Bishop Job also provides us with a very important reminder concerning this principle, “I must do no harm, even while I seek a common good.” Here, the Bishop challenges our tendency as human beings to do harm in the service of good. But the principle remains, despite our excuses. I must do no harm, even when trying to achieve a good common for me and my neighbours. I will be pondering this point in the coming days …
I welcome your reflections below. Thank you for joining me.
Peace be with you all,
SR.
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March 5, 2025
Lenten Readalong Begins
Dear Everyone,
A blessed Ash Wednesday to everyone who is celebrating. I hope you’ll consider joining me in this year’s Lenten Readalong. I’ve chosen “Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living” as this year’s reading. The book is available as both an ebook and a hardcover volume.
I would like us to begin our reading with the Preface and the Introduction. Feel free to offer your comments and reflections on both below. Then starting next Wednesday, we will read “Do No Harm.” My plan is to post weekly on Wednesdays, and to schedule an opportunity for us to chat with the All Things SR Podcast prior to Easter. Stay tuned for those details.
In these times of uncertainties, tariffs, wars, and distress, Lent offers us an opportunity to pray and to listen. I hope that through this year’s reading, we will be inspired and strengthened and that the celebration of Easter will be all the more meaningful.
I want to emphasize that the invitation to read along with me is open to all. You don’t have to be Wesleyan, or Christian, or even a theist in order to join me. You are all invited and I welcome your participation.
Peace be with you all. I hope that your Lent is blessed.
Thank you for reading,
SR
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February 16, 2025
Lenten Readalong
Dear Everyone,
Peace be with you this wintry Sunday.
I am inviting all of you to join me in this year’s Lenten Readalong, which will begin on Ash Wednesday, March 5th, and continue until Easter.
This year, we will be reading “Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living,” by Rueben Job. I have long admired the wisdom of John Wesley and desired to learn more about the Wesleyan tradition. I’m grateful to my friend Pastor Ginny, a United Methodist minister, for recommending Bishop Job’s book, which offers reflections on John Wesley’s wisdom.
I want to be sure to emphasize that this readalong is open to everyone and I welcome your participation. For me, Lent represents an annual journey and I am so grateful that for the past few years, I’ve been able to journey with so many readers around the world. It has been a tremendous blessing to me.
We will begin March 5th by reading the Preface and the Introduction. The book is available as an ebook and also as a paperback. Join me.
Thank you for reading,
SR
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February 1, 2025
Advent in Edinburgh
Dear Everyone,
Please enjoy the following outtake, which takes place after the close of “Gabriel’s Promise.”
-x-x-x-x-x-
Crash.
Gabriel Emerson startled awake.
Light from a street lamp streamed in through the bay windows, illuminating the half-empty bed. Julia was gone.
It had been some time since their house in Cambridge had been invaded. Gabriel had slightly relaxed since their move to Scotland. Nicholas Cassirer had upgraded the security systems in the townhouse provided by the university.
Something had awoken him and so he strained his hearing.
Silence.
No light shone through the open door to the ensuite. No light from the hallway, which lead to the staircase and beyond, to his daughter’s room.
Clare.
He pulled on underwear and thrust his feet into slippers. Even with the heat engaged, it was cool inside the house. He threw on a cashmere robe, grabbed his phone, and jogged to the nursery.
The toddler gate was still intact, spanning the threshold to the nursery. Through the open door he saw Clare, sleeping peacefully in her crib. A fanciful nightlight projected pink stars on the ceiling and wall. The contents of the room seemed undisturbed.
Gabriel’s heart rate slowed and he carefully crept away.
Julia.
He flew down the staircase to the ground floor and found the gas fireplace burning, and lights twinkling on the Christmas tree.
Julia was sweeping what appeared to be broken glass.
“Are you hurt? What happened?” He crossed toward her.
“I dropped one of the ornaments.” She straightened; her expression guilty. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Gabriel leaned down to kiss her, before examining her face. “But you’re all right?”
“I’m fine.” She gazed wistfully at the fragments that glittered in the dustbin. “It was pretty.”
“You’re pretty.” Gabriel wrapped her in his arms. Julianne was far too fetching in her tartan pyjamas, her long hair piled carelessly atop her head in a style he could not name.
“Be careful walking here. I may have missed a piece.” She put the broom aside, leaning it against a stack of boxes.
“Come here.” Gabriel took her hand and led her to the couch. She settled herself sideways on his lap.
He cocked his head to one side. “Do I hear … Christmas carols?”
“Satellite radio.” Julia pointed to her cell phone, which sat on the coffee table. “They play Christmas music all day and all night.”
“Of course they do.” Gabriel wiped the sleep from his eyes and pulled her against his chest. He appraised the six foot tall Fraser fir, noting the carefully placed strands of white lights. “How did you manage to reach so high?”
“I borrowed a chair from the dining room, but I’m too short to put the star on top. You’ll have to do it.”
He frowned. “I thought we were decorating tomorrow, with Clare.”
“I woke up in a panic, realizing that all the ornaments I bought are glass. I thought it would be better if I decorated the tree while she was asleep.”
“Ah,” said Gabriel. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Julia rested her head against his shoulder. “I know you haven’t been sleeping well.”
“It’s all right,” he deflected, eyes still closed. “What about you? I would have thought with the semester ended and examinations looming, you’d be mired in grading for Graham Todd’s class.”
“I am, but I have a chance to catch up until exams start on the ninth of December.”
Instinctively, Gabriel slid his hand to the small of Julia’s back.
“I’ll have to put the ornaments on the top half of the tree. We may need a fence.”
“A fence?” Gabriel opened his eyes and moved his left hand to Julia’s backside. He squeezed.
“You aren’t really listening, are you?” Julia leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“I listen with my hands.”
Gabriel’s kiss was unhurried. His right fingers sifted through her hair to find the hair tie, which he tugged, spilling the locks to her shoulders. He tossed the tie on the table.
“You’re very good at that.” She smiled against his lips.
“I’m good at a great many things.” He traced the curve of her cheek with his thumb. “What do you want for Christmas?”
“I want to go home to Selinsgrove and spend Christmas with our families.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Gabriel hummed. His Christmas plans for Julia were far more elaborate. He thought of the unwrapped boxes hidden at the back of the wardrobe in his office and what Julia would look like wearing their contents . . .
“I suppose christening this room is out of the question?”
Julia laughed. “A bit risky, since I may have missed some glass.”
Gabriel scowled.
“Are you awake now?” She looped her arm around his shoulders.
“Absolutely.” He pulled back so he could examine her features – the warmth of her large, dark eyes and her rosy lips. “You’re quite fetching with your hair just so, in the glow from the fire.”
She smiled, slightly embarrassed.
“We’ll save the fireside for another time. Come to bed.” He lifted her to her feet and swept her into his arms.
“What about the tree? And the decorations?”
Gabriel began climbing the stairs. “We’ll put a toddler fence around the tree, and you can decorate to your heart’s content.”
“Someone is good at problem solving.” Julia pushed a curl back from his forehead.
When they arrived at their bedroom, he kicked the door closed behind them before setting her on her feet.
Julia gazed up at a very awake, very focused Gabriel.
“Here.” He touched her chin, lifting her face so that he could kiss her properly.
With his gaze fixed on her, Gabriel removed his robe and slippers and walked her to the bed, joining her atop the comforter.
Julia reclined next to him on her side.
He took her hand in his and pressed his lips to her knuckles. Lifting her head, he settled a pillow beneath her.
He touched her cheek once again before moving to undo the buttons of her top.
“Too cold?” he whispered, parting the fabric to expose her breasts.
“Yes, warm me up.” She pulled his naked torso to hers, reveling in the contact.
He chuckled against her lips, before pressing kisses down her neck and across her collarbone.
Julia’s hands smoothed across the muscles in his back.
He kissed across her breasts as he slowly freed her from her pyjama bottoms.
Julia pushed his boxer briefs over his hips and sighed when he stretched over her, his legs between hers.
“I worship you,” he said quietly.
Julia reached up to kiss the furrow in his brow, then drew him back into her arms, chest to chest.
Gabriel kissed her while his hands traced lazy patterns across her skin. It was slow. It was sure. When Julia grabbed at his backside to move him forward, he gently tugged her wrist to rest above her head.
“Don’t make me rush,” he whispered, his fingers slipping between her legs.
She lifted her knees and curved a leg around his hips. “Please.”
“So impatient.” He chuckled, capturing her mouth again. But he would not deny her.
When at last they connected fully, she sighed against his cheek.
“What’s that sigh for?” Gabriel lifted his head, his expression concerned.
“I love you.” She stroked his face, her fingertips catching on the stubble. “I like how we feel together – like home.”
“Because you are home.” His words disappeared into her shoulder and then he was moving.
Julia laced his fingers with hers and closed her eyes …
Fin.
Thank you for reading,
SR.
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January 13, 2025
Outtake Forthcoming
Dear Everyone,
I wanted to let you know that I’m writing an outtake featuring Gabriel and Julia, from “Gabriel’s Promise.” I’ll post it here when it’s complete.
In the meantime, I’ve been hearing from readers around the world who are discovering “The Man in the Black Suit,” for the first time. Thank you for reading. And thanks to Kat Sharples for her edit making casting suggestions for a possible film. I’ve reposted her design to my Instagram account.
Thanks for reading,
SR
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January 5, 2025
Advent Readalong – Concluding Discussion
Happy New Year, Everyone.
Thank you for joining me in this year’s Advent Readalong. I hope you enjoyed Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s reflections. This evening I’ll be joining the All Things SR Podcast in their chatroom at 7PM for a concluding chat. You can join the chat here. Join me.
As always, I welcome your comments and reflections below.
Peace be with you,
SR
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December 23, 2024
Advent Readalong – Week Four
Dear Everyone,
The theme of our readings this past week was Redemption. Redemption is a powerful thing and one that I try to explore through my writings.
Many of us long for a second chance, for forgiveness, for mercy. Bonhoeffer stresses the message of redemption through grace and the central importance of the Incarnation. The Incarnation, the culmination of our Advent waiting, is the beginning of the possibility of redemption.
While Advent teaches us to wait, the recognition of our need for redemption should teach us to be patient with others who are also in need of forgiveness, grace, and mercy. It’s so easy to look at the world around us and point to all those who need to change, but it’s very difficult to turn our eyes inward and admit our own faults and ask for forgiveness.
Last night at Mass we sang “O come, O come Emmanuel.” Come and be with us, God, and be with us in our self-righteousness and failures. Rescue us from ourselves. Forgive us and teach us to forgive others.
As we turn toward Christmas in these next few days, Bonhoeffer invites us to meditate on the profound mystery of the Incarnation. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and welcome your comments below. Our readings will continue until Epiphany, which is January 6th.
Peace be with you all and with your communities,
SR
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December 15, 2024
Advent Readalong – Week Three
Dear Everyone,
A theme for the first week in Advent was Waiting. The theme for the second week is Mystery. At first glance, these two ideas don’t seem to connect with one another. But when one is faced with mystery, one must be patient. When one is faced with mystery, one must be silent. Again, I am moved by Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s wisdom in affirming the mystery of God, the Incarnation, and Advent.
Advent brings endless questions – why not now? Why not sooner? Why there? Why then? Why? I look forward to the day when the questions are answered and the mysteries are solved, but now I wait and I embrace the mystery, while looking forward.
Faith, hope, and charity; in Advent, we see the commingling of these three theological virtues, but Advent certainly is the season of hope. While we continue our reading this week, and we look toward Christmas, I’d like us to take some time each day in silence to reflect on the joy of what is to come. O come, o come Emmanuel, God with us …
I welcome your comments and I hope that you continue to have a blessed Advent. Thank you for reading along with me,
SR
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December 8, 2024
Advent Readalong – Week Two
Dear Everyone,
We are embarking on the second week of Advent. I’ve really enjoyed the first week of readings from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “God is in the Manger,” along with your comments. Thank you for reading with me and for sharing your thoughts. I think of Advent, like Lent, as a kind of journey and I’m very grateful to you for journeying with me.
This week, I was struck again by Bonhoeffer’s wisdom. His reflections are always insightful, but this week his examination of both waiting and silence caught my attention. I am notoriously impatient and have been so my entire life. (The Professor and I share this attribute) Bonhoeffer reminds us that to be a Christian is to wait. At this point in our history, we live between the resurrection and the New Jerusalem. We live in gratitude and in hope, but there is much that is “not yet.” And so we must wait. We must be patient, even as we are impatient with suffering, tragedy, war, and death.
Bonhoeffer also meditates on silence: “Silence ultimately means nothing but waiting for God’s word and coming away blessed by God’s word.” This remark struck me, particularly in its relation to waiting. The more impatient I am, the more I have to say. But when I’m impatient or cross, I’m not listening. Bonhoeffer observes that the silence of the Christian is a “listening silence.” At least, it should be.
We wait in hope. We listen in silence. We have faith the time will come and so will the answers. And in the meantime, we are part of a wide and generous community of fellow travellers who wait and listen with us and to us. Let’s be sure to remember one another in our prayers, and let’s also remember those in our community who are ill.
Peace be with you all. I welcome your comments below.
May your Advent continue to be blessed,
SR
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December 1, 2024
Advent Readalong – Week One
Dear Everyone.
Peace be with you and peace be with your communities. I hope that all who are celebrating have a blessed Advent.
Today, I am beginning my Advent reading of Day One of “God is in the Manger,” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) . I’ll be completing a reading from the book each day until Christmas, when I’ll begin the Twelve Days of Christmas reading, which starts on page 65. Please join me.
I’ll be posting weekly reflections here on my website and I welcome your comments below. I’ll also be participating in a chat with the All Things SR podcast during their podcast on January 5th, 2025.
The editors of “God is in the Manger” have provided a short biography of Bonhoeffer in their Preface. I invite you to read it. If you want to read more about Bonhoeffer you can do so here: https://bonhoeffersociety.org/about/bonhoeffer/biography/
I also recommend his work “The Cost of Discipleship.”
But today, I am going to meditate on the first reading, which declares that Advent is the season of waiting and that Christ comes to us in the person of our fellow human beings. Transcendence and immanence. Grace and responsibility.
I am conscious of the tremendous suffering the world this Advent and I am conscious of the fact that there is so much hatred between human beings. I am confronted with the question of what I am doing for the world and in the world this Advent. As I live, and speak, and act, do I contribute to the problem or am I working toward a solution?
Bonhoeffer, who lived and wrote during a time of war and hate, faced these questions. I’m looking forward to learning from him once again.
Peace be with you all,
SR.
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