A Note From Father Bob
The new music teacher at the Jr. High School was instructing her band before their first concert. Just before the concert, she whispered to the nervous musicians: “If you are not sure of your part, just pretend to play.” When the big moment arrived, the director raised her baton with a sweeping flourish… and lo, …nothing happened! The band gave forth a resounding silence. Every student expected another student to play their part, thinking their part would not be missed.
Sometimes the church is like that. Parishioners, unsure of their role, look to the ministers or other lay people to carry the load. The result is: nothing happens.
I love the story about the new pastor, who on his first Sunday in a new church, told his congregation to “not come bother him with their pitiful stories, unless they were regular in worship and committed to a tithe…because the first advice he will give them, in response to their problems, would to be come to worship and commit yourself to a tithe!” Needless to say, he was soon looking for another new church!
But the truth of his message has to do with serving… playing your part. In worship, we serve God. In our tithes, we help serve others. And we develop an attitude of giving and serving. When we focus on others, we are somehow less aware of our own problems. Newscaster David Brinkley once said: “A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” What better foundation can we lay than one of regular worship and offerings to God. It is from this foundation that we build solutions to the rest of our lives. Each of us has a part to play in life’s concert.
I see this to be so true of the people at St. James. When I look at St. James, I hear one of my favorite songs…. (May this be our prayer): Won’t you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you. Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant, too. I will hold the Christ light for you, in the night time of your fear. I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear. I will weep when you are weeping, when you laugh, I’ll laugh with you. I will share your joy and sorrow, til we’ve seen this journey through. Amen
Bob +
