Virtues – SSJE

As boring and unexciting as this may seem, genuine humility creates space for us to serve God. In a world where we are driven to be extreme, Br. Jack Crowley reminds us that real humility begins with being honest and genuine.

“Money – of all the things human culture deems necessary – most easily becomes dishonest or unrighteous if its use is not channeled and directed by our ultimate allegiance to God, to whom all things belong. This spiritual allegiance relativizes the value of money, knocking it from its pedestal as a would-be master over us.” Br. Keith Nelson invites us to ask ourselves about our relationship to money.

“For us who believe in Jesus, the Cross is surely where we get our strength. It is our hope and our anchor. If you are feeling overwhelmed with the sorrows of our world, if your heart is filled with compassion for all who are suffering, in the Middle East and beyond, bring your sorrow, your love and your prayers to the foot of the cross, and allow Jesus to bear them and offer them for his work of redemption.” Br. Geoffrey Tristram invites us to turn our gaze to the Holy Land, where even in the midst of such suffering, people find their way to resilience and perseverance.

“Some of us may be called to uncommon courageous actions like Judith’s. I expect that many of us will not. But all of us are called to exhibit the Mary’s common courage of simple faith, hope, and trust—the common, vulnerable courage to stand in our grief, to wait in the face of the unknown and uncertain.” The example of two faith-filled women provides Br. Lain Wilson with insight into the true meaning of courage.

“We are all captives, in some way or another. Maybe not captives to a heretical Christian sect, for sure, but captives to forces and narratives and patterns that largely lie outside our control, and therefore often beyond our awareness. We can too easily take these as given. We all have our own blinders and biases.” In our age of contested truth, Br. Lain Wilson points us toward Irenaeus of Lyons for an example in fighting falsehood.

“Remaining doesn’t mean being static, staying the same. Benedictine Michael Casey wrote: ‘Stability is not immobility. It’s the knack of remaining constant in the midst of change.’ Constancy comes through the little things, daily habits of showing up, being kind, giving thanks.” In memory of Matthias, Br. Luke Ditewig praises the virtue of constancy.

“God’s people shout for joy, sing songs of joy, return from the fields in joy. God restores the fortunes of Zion—and their sadness is transformed into joy. Joy is their response, their witness to God’s working in the world.” Br. Lain Wilson invites us to shout for joy.

“I want to crack these scripture passages open by sharing some things I’ve gleaned lately about ethics from a rather unlikely pair: a wildly popular content creator on TikTok and an early eighteenth century Quaker. Bear with me!” Br. Keith Nelson looks to two unlikely allies in this exploration of how we can act with moral integrity and humility, avoiding the pitfalls of self-righteousness or hypocrisy.