CONSIDER THE LILIES

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. (Matthew 6:28-29)

I'm afraid I don't have anything useful, intelligent, inspirational, of even amusing this week. And there will be even less next week since I will be attending a conference for three days and then the Synod Assembly. This week has run the gamut from having a fender bender in which no fenders were bent at all, but I received a citation which a police officer said she didn't want to give me, but the law didn't allow any discretion. I paid the fine and completed traffic school to avoid points. I had a wonderful, wonderful day at the Magic Kingdom with my cousin, her husband, and oldest son who is one of Disney's talented cast members. Then I spent several hours with a member for whom death draws near. And in between I have been brushing up as Robert's Rules of Order so I can be of some help as a parliamentarian next week. I suppose this a typical week insofar as clergy have a typical week.

I once interviewed for a church where a committee member asked me several times to outline a typical day. I kept repeating that there is no such thing. He could not accept that. Many years ago a member of a church spent most of the day at the church while I was mainly "in the office." A steady stream of visitors arrived some seeking food, some advice, some to complain, and others just to chat. The phone rang, I struggled to get through some reports, the mail arrived with numerous demands for one thing or another. I think I also had to put bulbs in the lighting fixtures. As I left to make hospital calls the church member asked me if it was always like that at the church. "No," I replied, "sometimes it gets busy."

I'm not complaining. I like the variety of things that I do. I don't like wasting time just goofing off which is I why I am usually up at 6 a.m. when I'm on vacation. My regret with all this busyness is that I often do many urgent things rather than important things. That's probably true for most people. We lurch from one pressing demand to another, but too often miss things that are important. I have this feeling that when the day of Judgment comes, the Lord isn't going to ask about why I didn't get the parochial reports done in time, but why I didn't spend more time listening to children or helping people to pray.

Well, I have about an hour left today. I intend to read a bit more of Boxen,stories that C. S. Lewis wrote when he was quite young. And maybe I will read a bit of Bishop Fenellon's amazing writings. So as not to make this blog a total loss, here is a bit from his book The Royal Way of the Cross.

Do not let your natural activity consume you amid the irksome details around you. You cannot take too many pains to subdue your natural temper by prayer, and by a frequent renewal of God's presence throughout the day. . . . Let it be our concern to abide peacefully, fulfilling all outward duties as well as we can, while inwardly we are absorbed by Him who is the only one worthy of all our love.

May the Lord bless you on your journey, and greet you on your arrival.

Wayne



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