Letters

I'm spending today trying to get a handle on the next few months. July 1, my life will change a lot--as I start my new appointment at Calvary UMC. Between today and July 1, however, is a still busy ministry at Jefferson and the charge, and I don't want to let anything get overlooked--both that ongoing ministry happenings and the preparations for transition.

This morning I managed to at least get through the Sundays through June--deciding which text to preach, and beginning to think of an overarching theme (I like themes...they keep me from falling too severely in my natural tendency to diverge a million difference ways). Things are already planned through Easter, and I'll be away the Sunday after Easter, so that leaves 9 Sundays. And other than Pentecost (when I definitely preach the Acts reading), I've decided to preach the lectionary's epistle lessons.

This seems quite appropriate to me, I think, since Paul wrote his letters to a variety of different churches, all of whom capture something about the church still today. And I think even today, in this world of blogging, YouTube, Twitter, etc., letters still have this powerful impact that little other things do.

Paul's letters, like any good letter, are generally written (with perhaps the exception of Romans) to people he knows...and knows pretty well. They are people he has a relationship with, people for whom the letters are a continuation of a conversation already ongoing.

Also, there's something remarkable about the power of the written word--even when we lament our general lack of good spelling and grammar. To put something on paper is to make it real. Spoken words are powerful, but can only be remembered with some generalities. We can argue over he said-she said all day. But letters give us the opportunity not just to be clear, but to be concise. And to re-read (if we are wise enoguh to do so) out words to make sure we are saying what we mean to. If we want, we can even ask others to edit as well. A little editing and proofing could do us all a lot of good these days.

Of course, there are always exceptions. Some of the most powerful moments in history happened through spoken word, and further, when the speaker came off-script. But As I prepare to leave, this focus on letters, and Paul's letters at that, I think is a very fitting way to draw my time in this appointment to a close.

One of my recurring topics of thought (those little things you keep in the back of your mind for the right moment, or even just when you're looking for something to ponder) is what I would title an autobiography. Titles that have appealed to me at various times in my life include, "My Life as a Designated Driver," "Blue Blazes," etc. One of my latest is, "Letters I Never Sent." I like that last one, because for all the letters I have sent, there are some whose sole purpose was to give me a safe way to vent, to dream, or to reflect. For all the letters I've ever sent, some of my most meaningful ones are those that only I have seen. And I have heard of others who have done the same.

What is the different between the letters that get sent and those that do not? I think the way each of us answers that says a lot about how we look at life. So I guess my task in the coming months is to ponder why Paul sent the letters he did...why these didn't remain ones he held onto, and what it is that he (and maybe even I) have to say that shouldn't be kept hidden. And to discern the difference.

Going about the business of this past week, the serenity prayer came to my mind...though I know it, I often keep it filed in the back of my mind. But today its words speak to me:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.