If you know me, then you know I like to talk. So, it would be entirely reasonable to think that the opportunity to preach regularly would be my favorite thing about this job. To be honest, as I was preparing to begin my work here, I was certain that would be the case. I mean, you combine the ability to talk to a captive audience- captive because of their respect for church, not my eloqence- and some nerdy Bible study, and you would think I was in heaven (pun intended). However, after two Sundays I can tell you that preaching is not my favorite aspect of my work here. Don't get me wrong, just as I expected, I love doing it. However, my absolute favorite task, one that I take great joy in, is taking communion to the sick. I love it for two reasons.
The first is the character of the people that I am visiting. These are people that very much yearn to be at church with their brothers and sisters in Christ, but their bodies simply won't get them there. I always sense a sharper focus and a greater sense of appreciation from those we visit with. For some reason, we humans are programmed so that it's harder for us to appreciate something until it's gone, or at least we think it's gone. It's a great paradox. Frequent worship is the calling of all humanity (not just Christians), a calling that not only blesses the God to whom our praise and worship is due, but that also gives us and sustains in us spiritual life and health. And yet, a result of that frequency is that we constantly battle the urge to take for granted what we worship, proclaim, and participate in. To the woman in her eighties whose foot is so swollen that it hurts to walk, worship is more than an obligation. To the man in his seventies who has just had a rod placed in his leg, and his wife who serves as his constant care-taker, praise is more than a simple duty. To the man in his eighties laying in the hospital in great pain and unable to keep down any food, and to his wife who remains by his side, participation in worship is a joy.
The other reason I love taking communion to the sick is that it is an extremely Christ-like action that never fails to humble my ego, even as it simultaneously builds my faith. One of the most comforting images in the Bible is Christ as the Good Sheperd. It is quite literally the personification of the 23rd Psalm with Christ walking with us, even through the valley of the shadow of death. What better way to proclaim that truth than to ensure that our brothers and sisters who are experiencing the most trying of times have an opportunity to participate in communion with us? So often when we think of pastoral imagery and of people as sheep, we find ourselves stuck in the dichotomy of faithful and faithless. Surely the lost sheep that Christ leaves the ninty-nine to go find is some wayward sinner- or even wayward Christian, not that the two don't overlap- desperately in need of repentance. On the contrary, I think that more often than we realize, the sheep has not wondered off in some fit of willful disobedience, but instead has fallen victim to one of life's many misfortunes. One of the things that I will never forget from my time as a chaplain intern is the number of people who are seemingly abandoned in their greatest hour of need. We live in a time when family is seldom close by, and neighbors are nameless faces we see in transit from our cars to our front doors. As disciples of Christ, it is left to us to go in search of other brothers and sisters who are wounded and ill, burdened with the unaviodable cares and sorrows of this life. It falls to us to make certain that they are never left so far behind that the voice of their Master dies away, as if it were never present in the first place. What better way to help them maintain the presence of Jesus in their life than with communion, the symbols of Christ victory over sin and death. What better way to remind them that they are loved not only by their God, but also by a community of fellow believers, than with communion, the emblems of the promise that pain and sorrow will never have the final say in our present world that remains broken in so many ways.
Yes, as much as I love preaching, it isn't my favorite part of this job. Now you know why.
I enjoy your postings. A brother at Northlake has done this for many years for some shut ins at a nursing home near church. I would mention his name, but he likes to do it quietly. I have found it interesting that he always thanks Clark's sister when he gives her communion. On a much lighter note, I guess you are a night owl since this was posted at 12:33 AM.
ReplyDeleteAww. That's sweet. We miss you. Maybe you should bring communion to Virginia :).
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