Ordination

This past weekend, I was blessed to be a part of the ordination service for Christopher Miller. Chris and I met at Princeton Theological Seminary while participating in the choir. After seminary, I was called to Thompson Memorial Presbyterian Church and Chris was the intern there for two years. Chris was not only a wonderful colleague but also a true friend.

Many friends, family, and colleague surrounded Chris on July 5 to celebrate with and pray for him as he began his ministry as a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church USA.  One of those friends was Rev. Brian Ellison who brought the Word of God for the people gathered. His sermon centered on this passage from Hebrews;

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” Hebrews 12:1

Rev. Ellison used a wonderful image that stuck with me from his sermon. He said that when he hears this passage, he imagines a stage where he is standing front and center with the spotlight on him. The audience can only see him, but as he looks to his right and to his left there are tons of people back stage and in the wings who have helped him, who are supporting him, who are there to feed him lines, or give a nod of encouragement.

My favorite part of ordination services is the moment when deacons, elders, and pastors are called forward for the Laying on of Hands; a prayer of blessing for the newly ordained individual. Right before this prayer during my own ordination service, Stephen Heinzel Nelson asked me to stand up and turn around to look at all the people who had come forward. And it was at that very moment that I began to tear up. I looked around at the faces of Sunday School teachers, youth group advisors, fellow pastors, members of multiple congregations, family, and friends who had walked with me on my journey.  It was incredible!  Not everyone is blessed with a moment like this, but I want to remind everyone that no one is on the journey of faith alone. Each of us has a cloud of witnesses waiting in the wings. 

Caffeinated

Coffee is important to me. I wouldn’t say it is the most important thing in my life, there are many things that out-rank it, but I would be lying if I said, “coffee wasn’t near the top.”

I also know that I am not alone in this feeling. Many TV shows and movies feature main characters who take coffee very seriously and refuse to work without it. These characters reflect a reality in our own lives to which we can relate. Our society’s love of coffee, I’m afraid to say, probably has less to do with enjoying and appreciating the beverage itself, but rather the draw is to the feeling of renewed energy brought on by caffeine.  And why do we feel the need to rely so heavily on the limited effects of caffeine? Simple, life is really busy. We are all so busy running errands, running businesses, running kids to and from places, running households, running, it feels at times, in circles. We live in an age when we have unlimited opportunities to connect, learn, to be entertained, to be distracted. How many of us have said to ourselves, “There are not enough hours in the day!”

With this ever-moving lifestyle, where can on find the time to stop and prayer, or listen to a sermon, or delve into God’s Word? We rationalize by saying that God understands. God thinks family is important and would want me to focus on them. God believes in our vocations and so has called me to work hard on my career or my school work. Who in this day and age has any time for Sabbath rest? The Gospel of Mark tells us,

“The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27

God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. Then God created humankind and only after that did God establish the Sabbath. The Sabbath was established with us in mind and we need the Sabbath.

“The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things in space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time. It is a day on which we are called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the mystery of creation; from the world of creation to the creation of the world.” The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel

Now, let me be clear, I still love coffee and I will continue to begin my mornings with a cup (or three). But it is my hope that my day, and yours can begin as consistently with God. What if we recognized our need to be in God’s presence as acutely as we needed our daily fix of coffee?