It would be hard to top Shakespeare if you're looking for a word or phrase to describe a human emotion, and in Juliet's good night speech to Romeo he really nailed the bittersweet nature of goodbye. That is much of what I am experiencing this week, my last week as one of the pastors of First Presbyterian Church. For nearly 8 years, this United Methodist minister has been the primary pastoral care point of contact at a PCUSA church which has warmly received my ministry, and we have been through much gladness and sorrow together. Along the way, we have become interwoven into each other's stories, and that makes the parting sweet sorrow indeed. As I leave them to pursue possible ministry opportunities with the Methodist Church in Britain, my heart is full of memories and with grief, even as it is filled with joyful anticipation for what lies ahead.
As people in the South typically do, we express a lot of emotion with food, and I have eaten with more members of the church in the past week than I could have ever imagined. They must think I'll starve! Just yesterday, the Stephen Ministers and I shared a luncheon that was soaked in laughter and more food than we could easily eat. The lovely flower in this picture was given to me by one of the Stephen Ministers who has a rare and true gift for creating beautiful floral arrangements that convey the holiness of God in every bloom. I call this her Pentecost flower, and you can certainly see why! As I drove away from our meal, I was overcome with gratitude for their commitment to caring for others, for their unflagging support and encouragement, for their shared companionship during my ministry here, and for God's good blessings in bringing us together.
It was much the same feeling I had at my college reunion in May and at Annual Conference just last week, the same feeling I experience each Wednesday at the Episcopal church at eucharist. A deep and abiding sense of the movement of the Spirit weaving complicated threads together to create a radiant tapestry of connectedness. A confidence in the ongoing presence of Christ who calls us to become his Body on earth and promises to never leave us to go it alone. A trust in the blessedness of the bonds of Love that bind us to God and to one another, ties that keep us from falling off the edge.
The Methodist revival at its best was and is all about connection even where there are differences of opinion and in "A Catholic Spirit" John Wesley asks the reader if her/his heart is right with God and her/his faith filled with the energy of love. He presses the point by emphasizing service, joyful reverence, and love expressed by good works to one's neighbor. He pleads for a bond forged in love, as he seeks to be loved "with love that is long-suffering and kind." These are central Christian characteristics, whether one is a child of Wesley or not, and glimpses of that love have been frequent in this gathering of Presbyterians; their heart is as my heart, which yearns to have Christ enthroned there. So, yes, parting is indeed sweet sorrow, even as we recognize and celebrate the ties of faith and love that cannot be broken, no matter the distance.
Imagine that the world is a circle, that God is the center, and that the radii are the different ways human beings live. When those who wish to come closer to God walk towards the center of the circle, they come closer to one another at the same time as they come closer to God. The closer they come to God, the closer they come to one another. And the closer they come to one another, the closer they come to God.
Just so, we will always be together, drawn ever closer to the heart of God. Thanks be to God! Amen.
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