THOUGHTS TO MICHAEL ON HOLY WEEK

As we come nearer to the beautiful symbolism of Holy Week, I am listening to my favorite teachers (Joyce, Pema, Eckhardt, Jon) with a listening ear for the nuances of service and grace that speak to us through the sad days preceding, and then in the sparkling feast of, Christ’s glorious resurrection on Easter. As usual, your service to me (and I am sure to so many others) as a light in this world comes to mind.

So here are some thoughts from your grey-haired friend.

I know you have ingratiated yourself into your new congregation, and are certainly receiving praise and gratitude from those whose lives you have already touched. Now I think you may need to realize that in this climate of simplicity and true values, there needs to be a paradigm shift in your thinking about service and grace.

Louisiana, in all the ways you and many others have described it to me, is not California. It is not New York, nor even Texas. My impression is that it is a place unlike any other because of the independent spirit of its people (my goodness, they don’t even follow our legal system!!) One peek into a John Grisham novel illustrates the unusual nature of this spirit of independence, and I believe it is complemented by a simple grace in each native of knowing... knowing who they are, where they came from, and where they are going. I imagine, then, that your need to serve your new flock is paralleled by their need to show gratitude and reverence for the deep nature of the relationship they have found with you, and through you, with God.

Here’s my advice: Let them. Let them show you. Be present for their gratitude and don’t shift the focus back onto them.

Consider Jesus’s washing of the feet of the disciples. You would immediately place yourself in Jesus’s role and want to show the congregation your willingness to [hear their grief, share their sadnesses, shepherd them through their lives] wash their feet. Consider that a few chosen beloved, whose lives you have probably changed and who are forever grateful to you, may wish to wash yours. Let them. They need to welcome you in fully to their hearts, and for those meek, merciful, pure in heart, strong believers, reversing the roles and washing the teacher’s feet may be just what they need to be whole in you.

Unless I wash you, you have no part with me (John 13:8).