Thursday morning: Day Two of the Cabinet, final day of making appointments (where United Methodist pastors are assigned to either the same or new churches), I am in my seat awaiting the arrival of Bishop James Dorff. To my left sits The Rev. Terrence Hayes, of the Victoria District, and to my right sits The Rev. Carl Rohlfs, of the San Antonio District; and yes, we misbehave all during our time together. But as we're about to our starting time, Terrence hands me a grave marker for a United Methodist minister. This is a round, cast iron emblem that rests on all UM clergy who die with a relationship to the church, that is to say, a retired minister or one in active status, either Local, Associate, or Elder, all receive one. I hold it and immediately think of my mortality, of the day one of these will, if I choose a resting place as I'm leaning towards the scattering of ashes, rest on my grave and ask, "Who is this for?" Rev. Hayes replies he does not know, so I quickly hand it to Rev. Rohlfs who immediately asks what I asked and I reply that I do not know but then Terrence says it is for us to pray over, so Carl hands it on to The Rev. Virgilio Vasquez who sits to the Bishop's left. All through this interaction in my view either through glances or full view, is a beautiful loaf of bread and a cup of UM "wine." The bread looks perfect with a top crust that looks to be the result of the dough having been knotted and twisted with the end result being one of beauty. I know it is Maundy Thursday and that we will be celebrating Holy Communion once we start our devotional time.
Bishop Dorff comes in and soon leads us in worship and prayer. He reads from The Message the account of the Last Supper and Jesus' interaction with Judas. The disciples are all asking if it is them who will betray Jesus. Then Judas asks only to hear Jesus' reply, "Don't play games with me, Judas!" (Matthew 26:25). I feel a tinge of guilt about my faults, my failings and my sins; yes, I'm guilty of having played games with Jesus. Then the Bishop reads the part about those who would follow or say they wanted to follow Jesus, "There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there's another part that's as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire." (26:41b). Ouch! Then we celebrated Communion. Bishop Dorff caught The Rev. Laura Merrill off-guard as he asks her to hold the bread while he read the part about the importance and role of bread in this sacrament. Laura's eyes were, as were all of ours, wet with tears of all that was being read about Our Savior with a dimension added to her life by the death of her grandfather last week, who had just turned 100 years old. He was a much beloved retired UM pastor. She had earlier asked how she could get a UM grave marker for her grandpa. Then the bishop caught me off-guard in asking me to lift the cup during that part, and again, my pain in lifting a cup caused by me. The whole devotional was one of the most powerful I had been a part of.
Thursday afternoon, we're about to enter Corpus Christi my cell phone rings with the news that one of our pastors had suffered what the caller believed was a heart attack and details about where I could possibly find him. We drove straight to the hospital and I arrived at the elevators right behind his wife who told me about his condition and she took me to his room. No heart attack, but something was wrong with his heart. A time of prayer for his healing, for he was to undergo a stress test and possible heart procedure the next morning.
Friday morning early, I awoke to pray and to send an email request to the pastors of the CC District to pray for their brother. I try to return to sleep and do somewhat, I arrive early enough to get to the hospital room before anything is done with our brother. Again, a time of prayer and trusting God. I return home and a little later as I'm putting on my tie to be a part of a joint Seven Last Words Service at First UMC, our daughter, Carli, arrives with our oldest granddaughter, Sarai Evangelina. What joy, but brief as grandpa and grandma have to get to church. We enjoyed seven perspectives on the seven words by seven area UM clergy. It was a time of powerful messages, powerful and moving music and a time to reflect again on my sinfulness before God that made it necessary for Jesus to have to die for me. After one of the words, a moving rendition of "Via Dolorosa," the painful way, that marks the road believed to the one Jesus walked in Jerusalem to meet His death, made more emotional that this would be one of the years that my oldest daughter did not sing it in worship. She would not be able to join us for this weekend and that made it somewhat sadder. But God was truly glorified in all that was offered up.
A telephone message from the wife of our brother in the hospital: Three stents in two places, the pastor was resting comfortably. We drive to see him, some rejoicing and celebrating that God was with us and our pastor was still with us. What I had shared in the opening and closing of worship was something that Tony Campolo shared in a book by the same name, "It's Friday...but Sunday's coming!"
Yes, indeed!
PRAYER: Loving Father, how can I thank You enough for what You did for me through Your Son, Jesus? I confess that the nails were the result of my actions, thoughts, and words that have not only hurt You but others. Forgive me. Help me to truly enjoy what tomorrow brings, that lasting victory over sin and death, again, through Your Son, Jesus, my Lord and Savior, in Whose name I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day and a wonderful Easter/Resurrection Sunday!
Eradio Valverde
