yesterday my dad preached his last sermon at salinas valley community church, the church he helped to found and to flourish for 27 years. as usual i find other's words more adequate to the task on this occasion. when i think of my dad, these are some of the things i think about:
from II Timothy: "preach the word. be prepared in season and out of season: correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. for the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. but you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, discharge all the duties of your ministry...
"...i am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. i have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, i have kept the faith." (4:1-7)
and from eugene peterson: "the norm for pastoral work is stability. twenty-, thirty-, and forty-year-long pastorates should be typical among us (as they once were) and not exceptional. far too many pastors change parishes out of adolescent boredom, not as a consequence of mature wisdom. when this happens, neither pastors nor congregations have access to the conditions that are hospitable to maturity in the faith...
"...it is interesting to listen to the comments that outsiders, particularly those from third world countries, make on the religion they observe in north america. what they notice mostly is the greed, the silliness, the narcissism. they appreciate the size and the prosperity of our churches, they energy and the technology, but they wonder at the conspicuous absence of the cross, the phobic avoidance of suffering, the puzzling indifference to community and relationships of intimacy...
"...what i object to most is the appalling and systematic trivializing of the pastoral office. it is part of a larger trivialization...there are other days, though, when we catch a glimpse of glory--a man here, a woman there determined to live nobly: singing a song, telling a story, working honestly, loving chastely." (from under the unpredictable plant)
determined to live nobly...that pretty much sums it up perfectly. that example is a good, good gift. thank you, dad!
3 comments:
Steve,
You've crafted a very fitting tribute to a wonderful, Spirit led ministry. Agreed: a model of living nobly and righteously is a perfect summation of Jerry's testimony and legacy.
I owe so much to your dad, as it was he, more than any other friend or mentor, who sowed and nourished the seeds, which finally flourished into a life-giving Faith.
I've been out of the loop, so I don't know the details that rendered this decision; hopefully this means that he and Karen will now have the time to visit us on Maui.
With warm aloha,
Mike
Amen, brother. Thanks for these good words about your dad.
For all the great things I could add about Dad here, I have to say that I almost love him more as "Papa" - what a gift indeed!
Post a Comment