So today has been a plodding start. I did say Morning Prayer. I have had breakfast and a cup or two of tea. But apart from that, I have done very little. I watched some videos on TikTok about religious life in Anglicanism. It must be a TikTok thing but all the videos are about nuns – men are not smart enough to use social media. If you are interested, follow me @anchoriteexperiment. I have had an issue with my eyes that makes reading a little more complicated than usual. Yes, I should simply wear my glasses but, you know, where are they?!

I woke up this morning thinking about the Rule of St Augustine, especially the opening sentence:

Before all else, dear brothers, love God and then your neighbor, because these are the chief commandments given to us.

Augustine wrote for a group of men (who were unable to use social media!) so forgive the opening. My thoughts, this morning, were wondering if the sentence should not say, “love Jesus and then your neighbour”. I have been called a “Jesus only Christian” before and I am never sure what that means. I often feel that we hide behind a coverall term, God, to escape the responsibility of facing that God in the life and death of Jesus. Jesus says, “Follow ME”, and not “Follow God”.

Anyway …