Pastoral Thought

Recently I was listening to a Homily entitled “Life Coming into Focus.” The meaning of the message spoke to my heart and has been with me all week. This was a shorter message that was delivered by Richard Rohr at his local home church where he worship. Midway through the message Richard told the following story that I will summarize in this article. 

If you want the full account of Richard's story, you can search for it in the Center for Contemplation and Action’s website. Richard’s story goes like this: 

He was visiting the Franciscan monastery that sits atop of the Mount of Transfiguration in Israel. He was participating in a weekend retreat where access to ’screens’ would be strictly limited. As a contemplative, Richard was excited for the weekend of isolation and silence. He settled into his room for the night and prepared for his quiet evening of stillness. 

No emails. No text messages. No distractions. It was going to be a good night to reconnect with God in a powerful way at this sacred mountaintop location. 

Upon waking up, Richard and the other retreat guests left their apartments and walked the grounds of the monastery. As they left the compound, he noticed that the Franciscan friars who lived on the Mount of Transfiguration had been busy. Their work went unnoticed in the darkness of the previous evening. On several of the trees around the areas Richard saw signs posted. Each one carried the same message: “No Camping.” 

Apparently the Franciscans, who live on the top of the Mount of Transfiguration, regularly deal with young people bringing their tents up the hill and wanting to camp around the area. So the signs were posted to try and curb this behavior. 

Richard, chucked out loud at the signs that he saw. . . He wondered “Even now, we are still trying to find ways to camp on the Mount of Transfiguration just like Peter did.”

His story made me pause and think about my own choice story remain in one spiritual place longer then I need to. How many times have I tried to symbolically camp in a place where I first found God rather than take that experience, and that revelation, down with me into the community? How often have we encountered God on the pages of our scriptures, or in our God at Work moments, and rather than share them or consider how we might use them, we try and pitch a tent? 

I suspect that if we were honest with ourselves, we too might just like to find some room on the mountaintop where we could dwell forever. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to abide where God is, as members of the church we are called to interact and share with our community. I wonder if you can pinpoint the moment when you wanted to remain rather than be sent? 

Blessings

Rev. Derek