Epiphany 4C
February 3, 2019
Jeremiah 1: 4-10, Psalm 71:1-6
1 Corinthians 13: 1-13
Luke 4: 21-30
St Thomas the Apostle
The Rev’d Joy A. Daley
The weather has been really crazy. Watching how people are suffering in other parts of the country brings on a chill. It makes me want to take a really hot shower to warm up, the kind that steams up the whole room and fogs up the mirror. When that happens, many times I’m inclined to quickly grab a towel and wipe off the mirror so I can see clearly as soon as possible, so I can get ready quickly and get on with my day. Every time I do that, though, I am faced with streaks, bits of lint from the towel or if I use my hand, fingerprints. My attempts to rush, to do things quickly result in taking me more time. When I take a different approach, open the door and let the air come in freely, the mirror clears naturally on its own and I am able to see everything I need to see without the addition of unhelpful streaks and pieces of lint or even worse, fingerprints. Otherwise what we see in that mirror are only puzzling reflections.
As I began to think about the change that has coming for St. Thomas and for me since I announced my retirement in early December, as my last Sunday on February 17th quickly approaches, it makes me realize that for now we are all like the Corinthians, seeing in a mirror dimly. The specifics of the future are unclear. We can’t see what is to come. It is a natural reaction, so very human for us to want to see clearly right away, to quickly get on with things so that you may know who will be the next Rector and for me to wonder what it will be like not to be here on Sunday leading worship. It is an anxious time but just like a foggy mirror, if we wait, if we take our time, if we open the door to let the natural air of the Spirit clear things for us, we will be able to move into the next part of our journey. God is with us loving us through every step of the journey.
It is human nature to react to change, we don’t want to just sit there but to do something! I find myself wanting to schedule things for the month of March and I hear rumblings that so do you. But if we move too quickly we rush past where we are right now and the natural feelings that arise and are part of this in-between transition experience. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that God is with us in this time and we are not called to rush past the uncertainty and feelings that may arise even if they are uncomfortable. For example, I feel a sense of sadness that our work together will be finished, that we have done some wonderful work in ministry together, I will miss you especially on Sundays. But now is the time to both celebrate what has been and to allow whatever feelings we have be acknowledged. So what I want to suggest is that rather than reacting to change with a bustle of action, we take our time and respond. Reacting and responding are two different things. Reacting can cause a knee-jerk reaction whereas responding is slower. Now it might seem like I am saying, “Don’t just do something, sit there,” but I don’t mean for us to be passive. Just like I have needed to do some things to plan for my retirement, to make the transition go more smoothly, the parish also has to prepare. That’s one reason why your Vestry went on retreat together this weekend. But rather than spring into action it’s important in my situation and yours that we take our time, to wait and listen. There is actually a clear and wise process that has been developed for congregations going through transitions:
- Saying goodbye to each other
- Notifying the bishops of the transition
- Providing for interim clergy leadership establishing search committees
- Conducting a parish self study and updates the parish profile
- Exploring potential candidates for Rector
- Recommending a final candidate to the Vestry
- Welcoming the new Rector
All of this takes time, it just doesn’t happen in a month or so. We must not skip ahead. I want you to know that you have a wonderful competent vestry led by Nancy LeGros, your Senior Warden, who has been communicating with both the diocese and our new Bishop Wayne Smith in an open, and healthy way. I have full confidence in this leadership. As I was reading an article about the sort of transition we are in there were two things that were mentioned first, 1) Pray and 2) Communicate. This is wise counsel. It does not give us immediate results or a clear view in the mirror right away but praying and communicating slow us down and give us time to process in a healthy way. Praying and communicating call us to open the door and let the gentle breeze of the Spirit flow into the room of our anxiety and slowly help us see what we need to see. Change occurred with my retirement announcement and now we are in a period of transition. This is a holy time of prayerful discernment about what comes next. First, we will open our hands to let go of each other. We will raise our hands to bid each other farewell. What we do with our hands after that is of utmost importance. There will be a temptation to take our hands and clear the foggy mirror as quick as we can which will lead to a mirror with streaks and an unclear picture at best. Another temptation will be to fill our hands with the tasks of moving forward, grasping as quickly as possible for someone to fill the role of Rector which might give an initial sense of security but many times a quick fix in the short term becomes a destructive one in the long haul. What I would like to invite us to do is to keep our hands open, listening and waiting for what God’s plan is. I will be doing this after I leave St. Thomas rather than rushing into a new role. I would invite you also to do that as a parish. Several years ago someone told me about how leaders at another church dealt with their transition process. Several of the parish leaders carried around a pocket piece to remind them of how they were grounded. The pocket piece said, “Fear Not For I am with You”. It had a little dove on it, the symbol of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Holy Spirit anointed Jesus to preach the Good News, The Holy Spirit has anointed St. Thomas to do the same. That was true back in 1950s when this parish was formed. The Holy Spirit was here when the whole church welcomed Ethel Stewart and when St. Thomas cared for those suffering from AIDS in the 1980s. It was true when you welcomed me 5 years ago after waiting, discerning what God’s plan was for this parish. The Holy Spirit is upon everyone here. That same Spirit gives wisdom and patience to wait prayerfully for God’s guidance. Let us begin today, very simply, naturally open your hands on your lap as we pray a prayer for Transitions (adapted from Women’s Book of Uncommon Prayers, p 55)
Let us pray:
Ever Present God, You call us on a journey
To a place we do not know.
We are not where we started
And seeing in a mirror dimly,
Knowing only in part,
Is not a comfortable experience.
Open our eyes to see that you are with us
Calm our fears,
Open our hearts and our hands to welcome your guidance
So that our journey continues as one of trust
In your ever clarifying Spirit,
Who in due time will bring us
To the time of knowing. Amen
