I have a cool job. It's hardly a job. It's more like a lifestyle lived out than a job. Today I will spend my day in conversations with people--often about what it is to be fully human, to have an abundant life (not wealthy material abundance, but spirit-filled, joyous living abundance). I will talk about GOD and Jesus and the Holy Spirit actively living and breathing and creating and saving us. And I will get to pray for a while.
I will visit some elderly folks this afternoon. Some need visited because no one visits them. How we neglect widows and the aged. We service them, nurse them, medicate them, and assist them with physical needs. But sometimes even families avoid going to see them. 94 years old. Sitting alone in front of the TV set for hours every day. Very few of the 168 hours in a week include a visitor who is there because of love. I get to go and say, I am here because of love and love alone. It is not a job that brings me here. No obligation. Just love.
Some would say, thats not true. That every visit I make is made on account of my position as Pastor. I say that the position is merely a way in which I can function in this way of life/love and not be accused of "shirking my duties" or avoiding "real work." The ordained ministry is a vehicle through which I am able to be the person God calls me to be. Its like wearing credentials. I'm always a follwer of Jesus, but being a pastor affords me the space and time in our culture to practice this way of life. IN so doing, I am able to help others practice it too in the ways they are able, in the midst of life's busy challenges.
Oh, I love Michelle Obama. She spoke at the Democratic convention last night. She wears sincerity and integrity like a wedding gown. I've never been so excited about presidential politics and the possibility that a family might lead the United States into a vision that is bigger and better than many Americans dream. I think Obama is hopeful because he has seen what ought to be and he knows how to get there. I connect with them on this level. Hope is when the big vision of the best life is revealed to someone who can lead a people toward its fruition.
Today it will take a person who is willing to cut through the crap and cling to the vision and move forward despite adversity and opposition. Someone who listens to the needs of the opressed and the least. Someone who is willing to love others and live that love with integrity, purpose, and strength. I think it will take leadership that sees a new direction, a departure from imperial consumeristic culture. I also think Obama is young enough to understand postmodernity as a deep cultural shift that requires leadership that understands the turmoil of such a shift in the minds of three or four generations who see the world and speak about it in markedly different ways. I wonder what kind of spiritual counsel a President Obama would seek out?
Speaking of which, time for me to go to York and pray with my spiritual director.
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