Faith and Leisure

During the past two months I have been "on a break" from my work in the ELCA Lutheran Church as an intentional interim minister. I knew when I entered this "limbo-like" life on June 6 it would be challenging. I hadn't had a break from one ministry to another in thirty-seven years! In the beginning I wrote to a couple of my seminary classmates that I would be practicing patience and our Lutheran understanding of vocation. To be sure these fifty days, including eight Sundays, have been challenging to my practice of patience and how I view the value of my life.

First, truly I have been learning patience. In point of fact I know that I am a "newbie" at patience, even at the age of sixty-two. Whenever during these past two months I have begun to feel sorry for myself for not "getting what I want when I want it" I have seen various people who have had to practice patience for their last twenty or thirty years, if not their entire life. When I have begun to be impatient with the pace of re-entering my practice of interim ministry I have encountered special needs children and adults who are totally dependent upon their caregivers all of the time. I have stayed in touch through Facebook with stories of ninety-seven year olds who have almost lived as long in retirement as in thier prior careers. Recently we celebrated the ninetieth anniversary of my wife's dear aunt who earlier had a long career in elementary education in California, but who now has lived the last third of her life back home in the suburban Chicago area near her family of origin.

What would it mean for me to be patient in a sense that these persons I have encountered have practiced patience? It would be to learn to be comfortable with waiting. Growing up in an "I want it now" culture, waiting is not easy. When you cannot make something happen instantly, but are dependent upon the help of others, you have no alternative but to wait. What if cultivating the virtue of patience means realizing that patience is one of the secrets to happiness in life? What if not always getting what you want is a part of what Jesus means by becoming a servant? These last two months have taught me that I am not in control of my life and I must learn to wait for God to do God's gracious work with me.

Second, my experience has been one of practicing Lutheran vocation. By this I mean realizing that I have many vocations or callings, all of which are important or equal. Pastoral ministry is just one of those callings. It certainly has helped me the past eight Sundays to know that being a Word and Sacrament minister is a great privilege, but not higher than any other calling. I have discovered in my leisure on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings that I like to share my reflections on Scripture and I like to preside over Holy Communion, but someone else can do it just as well (or better) than I can. At the same time only I can be the father, grandfather, husband, worker at home, etc. that I can be to my family. Certainly God blesses each and every one of us in our own vocations.

Third, leisure brings challenges to faith that are unique and varied. Most of us use our jobs as the structure of our lives. But when you have a life of leisure, how do you structure your life? I have discovered the need to establish a plan for each week and then go by it. What has that plan included? I certainly have tried to have devotions, reading, enjoying God's world outside, exercise and some time with my wife in each day. But the day only comes together when I realize "this is the day which the Lord has made, and I should rejoice and be glad in it."

Each day I look forward to the time when I will be working in my ministerial vocation again. I believe I have additional strengths to offer for two to three more years. I now know that after those days are over, whenever that will be, I can practice my faith in my leisure. Meanwhile, I know this too is time that God has given me to learn patience, to practice vocation, and to find a balance in life which I often have lacked.