|
A Note from Pastor Leslie
Last Saturday, the Presbytery of Arkansas had its fall meeting at First Presbyterian Church in Springdale. For those of you who have been around here a while, that’s the church where Susan Arnold now serves as pastor, and she and John both send their love. Presbytery is often a mixed bag, and this meeting was no different. Gathering with colleagues from churches across the Presbytery always feels a little like a family reunion, in all of the best and occasionally the most awkward kinds of ways. We were pushed in worship to have faith when we find ourselves in the wilderness and we were encouraged in our learning to take seriously the ways (both healthy and dangerous) that our faith and our civic life intersect. We did some good business and we did some less-than-good fighting (even pastors sometimes forget to treat each other with respect and with grace).
In the midst of all of that, I had a conversation with a colleague who had just received a long-awaited diagnosis. As we talked, she asked if I was familiar with a book, called “After Amen”. I pulled out my phone to look it up and add it to my ever-growing shopping cart, when she asked me to stop. I’m sending you a copy, she told me. I think you will love it. It made me think of you.
Sure enough, Tuesday night, a box showed up on my front porch. In it was that book, a book about the power of words- about prayer and poetry- but also about how we take those words and transform them into a more faithful life. It is supposed to be read daily, not gulped down in a single sitting, and I am struggling to follow those directions because I just want more of it.
I tell you about this, first, because though I’ve just started reading it, I think it’s a book that others would find helpful, find challenging, find fruitful. I always want to pass along books and movies and podcasts and art that has the possibility of improving your walk of faith.
But I also tell you about this for another reason. In his letter to the church at Philippi, as he is encouraging the church to follow Jesus’ example of humility, Paul writes, “let each of you look not to your own interest but to the interests of others.” Janet had every reason in the world to be looking to her own interest at this point in her life. Which is what made this gift even more meaningful to me. It was the gift of a book, what seems to be an exceptional one at that. But it was really the gift of sight. In a time when she should have been focused on herself, she saw me, and made sure I knew it. And friends, it made all the difference!
So, this week, even if your plate is filled to overflowing, remember Paul’s words, and follow Jesus’ (and Janet’s) example. Be aware of the interest of others around you. It will make a world of difference in their lives, and I suspect might just bless you, too- maybe even more. See you on Sunday!
| 
