God Standard Time

Psalm 43: 2-5
Jeremiah 29: 11-14
John 16: 16-24

One of my favorite things I like to say is that anything that has to do with the church always moves at the speed of molasses. In a world where most things can be found instantaneously and immediate gratification is the rule, the church seems to go at a pace that is much slower than most. Yes the church is about changing lives radically but these changes happen on God Standard Time, not Pacific, Central or even Eastern Standard Time.

This morning we return to Jesus giving his farewell to his disciples which by the way takes up five whole chapters in the Gospel of John. Seems a bit long doesn’t it, but remember Jesus is on God Standard Time. Jesus’ long goodbye reminds me of the goodbyes that I have had to make in the church setting. Being part of a community of faith is like being part of a family. When one person leaves a family to go to school, be married or be on ones own it takes time for the family to adjust to this change. When the head of the family leaves it is a big shock to the system and more work needs to be done to deal with the change. The same holds true for a church community that has said goodbye to a settled pastor.

I became part of the UCC seventeen years ago through a faith community called Urban Church, UCC in the Midwest. Urban Church were transformative for me for many reasons, most especially because it was the first time I had ever been part of a church that was led by a female pastor. When I first saw Rev. Jane Doe at the altar presiding over the Eucharist my heart was moved so profoundly because I was raised to believe that only men could lead the Lord’s Supper.

At the time I was attending Urban Church, I was going through some pretty rough life transitions myself. I clung to the community of Urban Church like a sailor hanging onto the side of a boat in rough waters. I found stability in the midst of the uncertainty of my life. No matter what was going on in my personal life, I could always count on this community of faith getting together every Sunday morning at 10:00 am with Pastor Jane up front leading us all in worship.

Eventually my life settled down and things became more stable, so much so that I wanted to give back to the church that had given so much to me. I became part of the church leadership by joining the nominating committee and the worship team. I became a regular in the kitchen offering a hand when ever the church held one of its many fund raising breakfasts. I was inspired to work hard because I appreciated what this community stood for not only for me personally but for the world as well. Pastor Jane preached sermons that challenged us and gave us new ways of looking at scriptures through the lens of peace and social justice. She encouraged us as church leaders to use just practices in the way we went about our church work. As a beloved pastor her ministry impacted many of us who were members of Urban Church.

Five years into her ministry at Urban Church, Jane became ill and had to take several months off for medical leave. This was a challenging time for us however we were able to keep the church going in her absence. We were excited to see her back when she returned but clearly she was not the same person that she was before her leave. She seemed to be going in a direction that was leading her away from parish ministry and several months after she returned she submitted her letter of resignation to the congregation. I was stunned when I her letter in the mail. It seemed like her resignation came out of no where. I was sad, angry and confused. I wondered if it was our fault that she got sick and eventually left us. It felt like I was experiencing a death in the family. Even though I only saw her once a week tops, her presence in my life was quite profound. I wondered if I would be able to continue being a part of this church without her there.

For the next three months our community participated in many rituals of leave taking. There were the meetings to wrap up the loose ends of her leadership, the potlucks, gatherings and even a big party on the night before her last service. It seemed so agonizing to me because I felt like it was too long and drawn out. I thought that my sadness would lift as soon as her last worship service was over with us but the emotions lingered on well after her leave taking. It wasn’t until well into the interim time that I realized why I had such an intense attachment to my former pastor.

What I learned was that a strong bond develops between a settled pastor and the members of the congregation. The pastor is present at the events of meaning for their congregants such as baptisms, deaths, illnesses and marriage. Given the importance of this person in a community of faith’s life, losing the pastor is like losing a family member. Feelings of grief appear in individuals and the community as a whole and time is needed to grieve the loss of the previous ministry thus opening the door to a new ministry.

Even though it has been almost a year since Pastor Sue Preacherlady left as your pastor, there is still some sadness and grief lingering in this congregation. She was a beloved leader in your community. As your pastor she solidified your commitments to being a just peace and open and affirming church. For five years she was with you all through your baptisms, deaths and marriages. For some of you she was there to comfort you through the hard times and for others her ministry stretched and challenged you in ways you never imagined.

Now the emotions amongst the individuals in this congregation do vary from individual to individual. For some, especially those who have grown up in the church, it is not hard for you to accept that pastors come and go and that the ministry of the church will continue through the changes in leadership. Yet for others the hurt, sadness and anger linger because it takes longer for them to process their grief. It’s not that one way of processing is healthier than the other, it’s just different for different people.

However the reason why grief is a process and not an instantaneous event is because it is done on God Standard Time. It is like the Jeremiah said in the older testament reading “For Thus Says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill my promise and bring you back to this place.” (Jeremiah 29: 10) There is no escape from suffering however the good news is that it doesn’t last forever. God will take us from the exile of grief into a new day. “For surely I know the plans for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jer. 29: 11)

The good news is that what waits on the other side of grief is transformation. A new life, a new way of doing things, a ministry of the things yet to come. This is what Jesus preached to his disciples in his farewell speech. Jesus normalizes for them the emotions that they are about to experience “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn…you will have pain but your pain will turn to joy.” (John 16: 20) He compares the grief process to a woman in labor, she is in pain while she is in labor however her anguish turns to joy because of having brought another human being in the world.

In the weeks and months to come as we continue on our interim journey together my prayer is that we be gentle with ourselves and one another. Yes many things have changed in this past year and for some of us the transition has been hard, however if we remember that we are on God Standard Time, in all things God will prevail. Yes there may be pain now, but our hearts will rejoice and no one can take our joy away from us.

May it be so.

Amen.