Pastoral Thought--July 23

As I compose these pastoral thoughts for you, they have, more or less, been carried in the same tone or voice. I wanted to share with you each day something positive, something aspirational, something biblically based, something hold onto when you hear and experience so much negativity surrounding covid-19. When the world tells you to lose hope (which seems to happen almost daily if not hourly), God offers you Christ Jesus as our hope, our grounding, our stability, our center. This choice made not so that we would just ‘forget’ about the pandemic, or its impact on our daily lives, and just hum happily down the street. Instead, I hoped that these words would help you re-focus on the God who calls Himself, Emmanuel. 

Yet part of the re-focusing process is also the needed time to self-reflect on how we are living with God and with each other. 

You and I see many people each day who are in themselves attempting to navigate this viral outbreak in many different ways. Some handle it in a healthy way. They speak about what they feel in a positive way and in their words we can hear some level of hope. But others attack on social media or in person, and we know them well. Their venom about this issue is clear—I don’t have to say much about this either. In noticing and judging how other people act in the face of this pandemic, we can fall into the trap of judgment and self-elevation. 

There is a poem entitled As the Ruin Falls. It was written by C.S. Lewis. It is more or less a confession from Lewis’ heart after a time in Sunday School. When I first read his words, I identified so strongly with the sentiments that he expressed that I had to stop mid-poem and put the poem down. It felt like Lewis was speaking directly to me, calling my name. But I assume I am not the only person who feels this way when we read these words:  

"All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you.
I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through:
I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.

Peace, re-assurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek,
I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin:
I talk of love --a scholar's parrot may talk Greek--
But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.

Only that now you have taught me (but how late) my lack.
I see the chasm. And everything you are was making
My heart into a bridge by which I might get back
From exile, and grow man. And now the bridge is breaking.

For this I bless you as the ruin falls. The pains
You give me are more precious than all other gains."

I invite you to use this poem today as a way to reflect back on how you are interacting with people today. How do you encounter them? I wonder if Lewis is speaking directly to you? We hope to be better, but are we living ‘better’ lives as the summer continues onward? These words sting a bit when we read them, what changes does God ask you to make today as you think and reflect? 

Blessings
Rev. Derek