Hard hospitality

Random thoughts after reading the Tribune this morning…

On page 2 of main section there’s an article about a woman and her campaign to get people in Boston to smile more. Not a bad idea. Hospitality in action.

On page 3 there’s an article about people in Houston who are weary of having New Orleans Katrina evacuees in their city. Strain on the city budgets, schools, hospitals, etc. A reminder that true hospitality goes beyond smiling (though a grin is certainly a start). Hospitality is hard, hard work and can often force sacrifice.

Finally, there was a blurb after the article about the president’s attempts to lower gas prices about how one can save on gas. I skipped over it at first assuming I’d know the answers. But I went back and was surpised by the omission of a couple things. There was advice about going the speed limit, not having excess weight in the trunk, etc. But some obvious ones were missing like, oh, I don’t know, maybe riding a bike or walking once in a while, carpooling or taking mass transit, you know, actually being in close proximity with people. The fact that some find that difficult to do (even me, sometimes) is even more painful, I think, than paying $3 per gallon.

Jealousy on Good Friday

It's Good Friday and I'm feeling a bit weary. I suppose that's the norm for religious types this time of the year as we prepare for the Big Day on Sunday while also preparing and conducting other worship services (for me: one last night and two today). I should also be thinking and reflecting about the cross and Jesus' sacrifice and what it means to me and the world (which I did do during our prayer vigil this afternoon), but right now, interestingly, I'm battling jealousy, aka that Deadly Sin, Envy.

I got back from our Maundy Thursday service last night and was doing dishes, listening to the sports radio show on WGN. The show is over at 9 p.m. and then a show called Extension 720 with Milt Rosenberg is on. It's a public affairs kind of show that takes on all kinds of topics. I wasn't done with the dishes yet and was actually battling an ant problem we seem to have in our kitchen when Milt gave a preview of his show. It caught my attention: religion in the news.

For those of you who don't know, I was a burgeoning religion journalist in a former life. I was a part of a program at Northwestern U. for folks interested in this field and we got master's degrees from the Medill School of Journalism and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. I'm not sure if I was part of the very first group of people going into this, but I was probably pretty close. One of my classmates was Cathleen Falsani. We started out at Garrett together, went over to Medill together, and came back and finished at Garrett together, though by the time I came to Garrett, God was nudging me to consider another vocation, namely, the ordained ministry. Cathleen, however, has gone on to big and bright things. She's the religion writer/columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and just published a book called "The God Factor," a series of interviews with "culture shapers," celebrities in their respective fields (Bono, Hugh Hefner, Hakeem Olajuwon are just a few of the more than 25 in the book). I found out about the book because she was one of the guests on Extension 720.

I couldn't help but listen and fight all kinds of envy which, as you can tell, am still fighting. Rubbing elbows with the interesting and famous. A column in a major newspaper. A book. A book tour.

Could that have been me? I don't know. She was probably a better reporter than me so if I had stayed with this field, there's no telling where I might have ended up. But it causes me to stop and wonder nonetheless.

Soaking in the Spirit

Pastors (for obvious reasons, including self-preservation) often talk about the need for people to both worship and be in worship. It's community building and, hopefully, also gives people spiritual nourishment, but, more importantly, I think we were created to worship, to give thanks, to sing praises, to lift up prayers, to confess our sins, to read God's word, all in response to God's goodness. Now, pastors talk this talk, but too few of us (sorry for the use of this cliche), walk the walk.

It's not impossible for pastors to worship while they are also leading worship. Some can do it with no problem and, at times, I do, too. But I also have other things on my mind, like making sure the liturgy is moving along smoothly and that I don't miss any of my own cues. Because of that, I occasionally worship on Wednesday mornings at 9:30 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Highland Park. There's a part of me that has a real love for time-tested liturgy and the Episcopalians do it as well as anyone. I went again this morning, though it has been months since my last visit. I made my way through the back door (the front was locked) and maneuvered my way through the maze of hallways until I darted in the side door of the chapel. There were probably a dozen of us there, reciting prayers out of the Book of Common Prayer, hearing the word read and (briefly) preached, and sharing in communion. I was the only male there. Most of the people were older women, but I enjoyed being a part of that community for 30 minutes or so. I could simply let myself worship and soak in the Spirit. It was a great feeling.