The Law, the Letters, and the Longing for the Pulpit: A Vocational Reflection

Personal Reflection 29 January 2026

It’s been a week that tested me. Work brought some alarming security issues, and that familiar hyper-awareness from my PTSD kicked in immediately. I could feel the heaviness in the room the moment it started. It felt like spiritual warfare—seeing someone lost in a moment of darkness, wearing a cross that seemed like just an ornament rather than a lifeline.

I’m human, and I’ll admit I needed a cry and some counseling to process the adrenaline. But I’m so grateful for the grace to pray for that person’s rehabilitation instead of carrying anger. My faith is the anchor I fall back on when the world feels unpredictable.

A Connection to the Past (On the Way)

In the middle of this heavy week, I felt led to find a connection to those who walked this path before me. I’m currently waiting on the post for two books from 1954—the letters of **Rev. Richard Johnson**, the first Chaplain of New South Wales.

They are part of the Australian Historical Monographs series, hand-signed and numbered by George Mackaness. I don't look at them as "trophies," but as a stewardship. Knowing that these words of the first man to preach the Gospel in this land are coming to me just as I feel that same calling resurface... it feels like a quiet, humbling nudge from God. It's not about the rarity of the books, but the timing of the message.

I’ve been keeping to myself lately, focusing on my health and my studies in the Law. My nights are quiet—prayer, writing, and music. I’ve only been out a couple of times this year, but Jesus always seems to come up in conversation. It’s just what’s in my heart right now. I’ve had to let go of a lot of drama and people who weren't headed the same way, and while it’s been a long road, the foundation feels solid.

I love my job and the law, but that pull toward pastoral ministry—whether it’s with the Anglicans, MCC, or just a community centre—is something I can't shake. When I was preaching, I was happy. I’m just trying to be obedient to whatever that looks like next.

Brick by brick. As I wrote in A Beautifully Messy Life, we just keep laying them. We don't always see the Cathedral while we're working, but tonight, looking back, I can see the walls starting to rise. I'm just grateful to be part of the build.

God is good.

The Architecture of Mercy

Text: Matthew 5:1-12

Friends, we talk about "The Beatitudes" like they are soft words, but they are actually quite gritty. Jesus was talking to people who were exhausted and pushed to the brink. When he said "Blessed are the poor in spirit," he was talking to us in our moments of hyper-awareness and fear.

This week, I saw spiritual warfare firsthand. My instinct was to protect myself and those around me, but the Gospel asks us to build something different: a space for mercy. Every time we choose to pray for someone who has hurt us, we are laying a brick in a Cathedral of Grace. It isn't built of gold; it's built of our scars and our willingness to keep going.

Whatever you are building today—your career, your family, or your recovery—know that you aren't building it alone. God is the Master Architect. He takes our messy lives and, brick by brick, turns them into a sanctuary.

Amen.

I hope this short sermon reaches someone today and touches your heart. May Jesus bring light into your life, illuminating every dark corner and offering you the peace that surpasses all understanding.

— AMEN —

Image Attribution:
Title: Dorothy Day with Homeless Christ (2015)
Artist: Kelly Latimore
Source: Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.
Link: Vanderbilt Divinity Library Record
Copyright: © Kelly Latimore. Used with permission for non-commercial witness. To support the artist, visit kellylatimoreicons.com.

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"I do not wish to approach Iconography as an art form that simply follows an inherited tradition... I want it to be a creative process, meditation, and practice that brings about new self-knowledge for the viewer and myself. Who are the saints that are among us here and now?" — Kelly Latimore