Pastor, I know you are busy...

About every fourth or fifth email I receive and about half of every phone conversation I have, I hear something like, “I know you are busy, but…” I cannot speak for every pastor but I believe that this modified story from the spirituality of the desert story might speak for many clergy - including myself:

There was a student who went to a teacher and asked for a word. The teacher shared a word with the student who went back home. The next day the student forgot what the teacher had said, so the student returned to the teacher.

“I am sorry teacher, but I have forgotten what you said yesterday. Can you share a word with me?”

The teacher spent a little more time with the student this second time, and then the student went back home.

A week later, the student returned and said, “Teacher, I am so sorry to bother you and I have asked now two times, but I have forgotten and would you share a word?”

The teacher sat all day with the student before the student returned home.

After two weeks, the student returned to the teacher. The student felt ashamed and was embarrassed to ask the teacher, yet one more time, “I know you are busy, and I know that I have taken a lot of your time already, but I have forgotten what you said. Could you remind me again?”

At this point the teacher took the table lamp that was to his right and asked the student to pass him a candle that was on the entry table. The teacher lit the candle, handed it to the student, and asked the student for a second candle from the entry table. The teacher lit the second candle, handed it to the student who was asked to retrieve a third and then a fourth candle.

The teacher lifted the lamp up and looed at the student who was now holding four lit candles. The teacher said, “Is the lamp diminished because it gave some of its light to the four candles?”

The student understood and said, “No.”

Never again did the student hesitate to visit the teacher and both of their homes became full of light.

Quarantined, Set Apart, Sacred

Maybe you have been thinking about the idea of "being set apart" these days.

In religious terms, being "set apart" is another way of thinking about what is "sacred" or what is "holy." The sacred or the holy is that which is set apart. For some reason, I forget that being set apart does not mean it is better, but it is reserved for a certain purpose. Thus, we do not have tailgates in the Sanctuary, not because the Sanctuary is better than other places and cannot be “tainted by a party”, but because that place is set apart for certain purposes. 

What might it look like to consider this time where we are all set apart from one another as a sacred time? Many sacred moments in the Bible are scary. Maybe you can recall stories of humans encountering the sacred and holy and the words come to the human, "do not be afraid." This current set apart time is uniquely scary, for many of us and we are trying to not be afraid.

So to recap, we are set apart. We are a little fearful. We have voices reminding us to no be afraid. We are forced to listen more closely and gracefully than ever before. We are being called to do things in a new way. 

This may not be the ideal or dreamy picture we imagine, but is it possible that this time (like all time) is still sacred? 

May our time be sacred - even at 6 feet apart or digitally. 

The Church and The Moon

Photo by Jordan Steranka on Unsplash

While reading a book for class,  I was reminded that the Christian calendar is based on the moon, and not the sun.

Who cares?

The moon is not a light source, but the object that reflects the light. It goes in phases, and is sometimes bright and other times seemingly absent. It is easily masked by clouds and yet does not hurt your eyes to look directly at it. It shines in the darkness even if only a sliver.

The Church is not the Light, but only attempts to reflect it. At her best, it shines in the darkness and at her worst it is absent from view. The Church is not what gives life but can help sustain life in the dark times. The Church pulls people together with intimacy and peace not unlike the moonlight summer nights of our lives.

This may contribute to our discomfort with Church. It is inconsistent and does not do all that we would want it to do. It does not fit neatly into our evenly measured lives and is more mysterious than we are comfortable with. It requires work to see and is easily over shadowed, but the Church and the Moon are tied together in a way that both are dependent on the Light.