On Saturday I’m flying to Michigan to participate in a Strengthening Schools and Congregations consultation. I’m not saying that to make myself sound important, but to let you know what kind of morning I had.
I tried to cram two days of office work (for the two days I’ll be out of the office) into one morning. It didn’t work and I felt like one of those guys on the old Ed Sullivan Show who would entertain the audience by twirling plates on the top of sticks. I never knew how they did that, but I think I know how they felt. A lot of the time I feel like I’ve got too many plates twirling to keep up.
I read a description of an interesting study that was done some years ago. I apologize for not looking up all the details, but I think it went something like this: a professor took students at a Divinity School and had them write a little speech on the Good Samaritan. He told some of them to take their time getting across campus to make their speech. Along the way, the researcher had “planted” someone who appeared unconscious and in need of help. Most of the students in the first group stopped to help. A second group of students were told that they were late for their speech and they needed to hurry to get across campus. This second group also passed by the injured person and almost all of them passed by without stopping. The lesson was that we are less likely to act on the compassion we have for those in need when we are in a hurry.
There are occasions when we need to get things done in a limited amount of time. I don’t think I can insulate myself from all hurry. The challenge is to remain on the look out for those opportunities to put our faith into action. I pray that you will never feel so rushed that you will fail to see an opportunity to be the Church.
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