The Harvest

 

Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 

I have been seeing a lot of posts on Facebook lately that say something like “Your pastor is tired.   Be understanding.  Give them a break.  Make them take time off.” The whole idea of vacation while sheltering in place is kind of strange.  I mean, I usually do “Stay-cations” anyway, but I do wander around while I’m not working.  I shop and visit people and go out for meals and get massages and stuff.  I can’t do that right now.  Staying in the house for vacation when I’m already staying in the house for work just doesn’t seem very vacation-y.

Although - that one Sabbath day each week does help.  The couple of days I took off in the beginning of July also helped me to feel rested and ready to return to my (home) office.   

I have watched so many clergy friends get to the point where they just can’t do any more. They’ve had one too many technical crisis trying to get online worship to work consistently.  They’ve had too many members insisting it is time to re-open, even when the rates of hospitalizations in their area are climbing, and they themselves are in a high risk group.  They’ve had even more demands on their time than they usually do, because now that everyone is “always available” people are scheduling meetings and prayer groups and webinars and town hall meetings and other important discussions on Zoom or one of the other meeting platforms - and it simply isn’t possible to attend everything that is put on their calendars.  They have found themselves standing by helplessly, unable to visit the sick, or be with grieving families the way they are accustomed to being, or even perform funeral services the way they always have.  

And I’ve watched them decide to retire earlier than they had planned, or just plain quit.  

Let us not become weary in doing good . . . 

This doesn’t only happen to clergy, of course,  It can happen to anyone.  It is easy to become weary right now.  It takes effort and determination to avoid that bone deep weariness. It takes Sabbath days and vacations. But mostly it takes a willingness to say “no” when one comes to the point when they simply cannot do any more.  It takes self awareness, knowledge of just where that point is, so as not to step too far beyond it.  

And if we do not give up, we will find ourselves on the other side, having reaped a harvest of success at things we didn’t know we could do.

God of the harvest, help us to understand where our breaking points are.  Help us to try to see what others are going through, so we can help them keep from breaking.  Let us remind one  another to rest before we grow too weary, and to say no when we cannot do any more.  Help us not to give up before the harvest is ready.  Amen