Yesterday I drove to another community with the daughter of an elderly woman who fell in her own home and is now hospitalized. The mother doesn't have a faith community so I offered to go and visit and pray. In the 45 minutes I was there it was apparent that while she had her times of clarity she was also slipping into confusion in other moments. It happens regularly with the "old old" and of course it is disconcerting for family
Everything came back into focus when I read a passage of scripture. I chose the Christmas story in Luke 2, with the angels and shepherds and the baby in the manger. She followed every word with a smile on her face and stopped me at one point to tell me how well she knew the story. It was one of those moments which make ministry very worthwhile. Here we were, not really knowing one another but the birth of a baby two thousand years ago gave us an intimate moment.
One year I visited a nursing home and went to the rooms of my various parishioners reading the same passage repeatedly. One of the last was an ancient soul who sat in the quiet when we were done and then said "we never get tired of this story, do we?" I was tempted to answer, "as a matter of fact I do" because I have gone through the words countless times. Ho hum. She was right though. The story of Christ's birth is so extra-ordinary we should never develop tired ears or hearts that are unable to be moved.
God can always be born for us again. Christ is coming.
No comments:
Post a Comment