It has been a bit since I've posted here...and I suppose that's because I've been fairly busy with the business of getting settled into the position of youth pastor and preparing myself for a PhD program. As in everything else, life continues on its too often frenetic pace.I was at an introductory dinner tonight at Princeton, and I think is was our seminary's president who mentioned something John Henry Cardinal Newman once said.
Someone asked the cardinal if he thought a clever priest or a pastoral priest was better.
As I heard this question in the middle of the speech, I simply assumed that the answer was "the pastoral priest." I mean, of course that must be better than just being clever.
But, yet again, I was wrong.
You see, what Newman said was basically this: "Neither. The holy priest is best." The holy priest. The one who is set apart and sets themself apart for God. That's what is important. That is what's needed.
Sometimes I try to be clever. And Heaven knows I try. And sometimes I try to be pastoral. I'm not always so good at that. But I do try to read books and ask advice and do all sorts of things to be a better pastor.
But what if, just what if, none of that really matters in the long run? What if all I have to do is give a blank check to God every day and really mean it?
What if I can do this without hypocrisy? Without saying it to others and not living it myself? Yep, that is--and is going to be--tough.
But still...what if I do put aside methods and a desire for results or outcomes or hopes or dreams and just serve Him?
What then, I wonder?
2 comments:
Ok, lets say you have two weevils, one is small and ill looking, the other is big and strong and very healthly. Now, which one would YOU pick, kind sir? The big strong one right?
Wrong! You know you should always pick the lesser of two weevils!!!!
Well done! Mr. Data!!!
I guess this post was made quite a while ago at this point, but I have to say that the truth spoken by Cardinal Newman teaches a lesson that is very hard to fully grasp as you yourself have stated. It has taken me a long time to learn the fact (and I am sure I am still a long way from truly learning it) that our own strength really does little. The pastoral and clever priests are both relying on thier own power to manage the things of God, and although everything in this world asks us to handle things in a worldly way, as pastors and Christian leaders we must more so seek God, than seek sucess at what we do. I am sure I am saying things you already know since this is the topic of YOUR blog post, but I think from time to time we all need to be reminded that it is never about us, and always about him.
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