January 14, 2015.
How has it come to this? I think it was just a minute ago that it was New Years Eve and we were sitting by the fireplace enjoying the evening. Now, just a breath later, it is already the middle of January.
Not only that, but today is my brothers 65th birthday. He is retiring after more than 30 years in ministry..... He is on his way to the last church council meeting of his ministry tonight....at least....probably his last. Unless he decides to do some interim work/supervision for the presbytery/does some consulting in congregations/gets active in his local congregation.....it will be his last council meeting tonight.
It's odd to think of getting to the last month of ministry, to be wrapping up a lifetime of vocation in a few short days. Giving away books is one of the spiritual practices common for clergy retirement. We all discover the tomes which have filled office shelves are as easy to dispose of as, well, so much that shows up in garage sales. Kind of old and tatty, some old but seemingly never used books are as popular with friends and family and parishioners as...well...last weeks leftovers in the back of the fridge. Yet the announcement that " Rev. So and So has placed books in the narthex for any who would wish them" is as good notice as any that retirement is about to occur.
How do we prepare to let go? To empty out our office, to cull the back up copies of sermons we might be able to pull out and use again if we edit out the dated bits and add in the bits which bring the message into the current context. To bid farewell to beloved souls whose lives are nearing their end and whose funeral will be presided over by someone else? How do we weigh the outcome of years of listening, prayer, visiting, eating casseroles in the church hall, preparing funerals and weddings and meeting with couples to prepare for their newborns baptism? Other than a few extra inches in our waistline and a few extra wrinkles in our foreheads, much of what we do makes ripples in the world, much as a stone in a pond. It isn't long before the surface smooths out. As if we were never there?
Perhaps not. Perhaps it is the mystery of that mirror-like surface of the water, which we know can churn in the wind, freeze solid in the bleak mid-winter, bring soothing delight to those who will dare plunge in during the early days of summer heat. There is mystery and awe and transcendence to be found as we look over the surface of the days we have spent. Of all that has been and is now and will be. Like the spirit of God, the waters of baptism, under which we are all made one, flow over us, bringing our days to life. And as we look back at all that was, the smooth surface glints back at us in the light of the sun.
"Fly Like An Eagle" --Steve Miller Band
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Oh, Lord, through the revolution
Feed the babies
Who don't have enough to eat
Shoe the children
With no shoes on their feet
House the people
Livin' in the street
Oh, oh, there's a solution
I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Fly through the revolution
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Fly through the revolution
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
How has it come to this? I think it was just a minute ago that it was New Years Eve and we were sitting by the fireplace enjoying the evening. Now, just a breath later, it is already the middle of January.
Not only that, but today is my brothers 65th birthday. He is retiring after more than 30 years in ministry..... He is on his way to the last church council meeting of his ministry tonight....at least....probably his last. Unless he decides to do some interim work/supervision for the presbytery/does some consulting in congregations/gets active in his local congregation.....it will be his last council meeting tonight.
It's odd to think of getting to the last month of ministry, to be wrapping up a lifetime of vocation in a few short days. Giving away books is one of the spiritual practices common for clergy retirement. We all discover the tomes which have filled office shelves are as easy to dispose of as, well, so much that shows up in garage sales. Kind of old and tatty, some old but seemingly never used books are as popular with friends and family and parishioners as...well...last weeks leftovers in the back of the fridge. Yet the announcement that " Rev. So and So has placed books in the narthex for any who would wish them" is as good notice as any that retirement is about to occur.
How do we prepare to let go? To empty out our office, to cull the back up copies of sermons we might be able to pull out and use again if we edit out the dated bits and add in the bits which bring the message into the current context. To bid farewell to beloved souls whose lives are nearing their end and whose funeral will be presided over by someone else? How do we weigh the outcome of years of listening, prayer, visiting, eating casseroles in the church hall, preparing funerals and weddings and meeting with couples to prepare for their newborns baptism? Other than a few extra inches in our waistline and a few extra wrinkles in our foreheads, much of what we do makes ripples in the world, much as a stone in a pond. It isn't long before the surface smooths out. As if we were never there?
Perhaps not. Perhaps it is the mystery of that mirror-like surface of the water, which we know can churn in the wind, freeze solid in the bleak mid-winter, bring soothing delight to those who will dare plunge in during the early days of summer heat. There is mystery and awe and transcendence to be found as we look over the surface of the days we have spent. Of all that has been and is now and will be. Like the spirit of God, the waters of baptism, under which we are all made one, flow over us, bringing our days to life. And as we look back at all that was, the smooth surface glints back at us in the light of the sun.
"Fly Like An Eagle" --Steve Miller Band
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Oh, Lord, through the revolution
Feed the babies
Who don't have enough to eat
Shoe the children
With no shoes on their feet
House the people
Livin' in the street
Oh, oh, there's a solution
I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Fly through the revolution
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I'm free
Fly through the revolution
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'
Into the future
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