If the lost word is lost, if the spent word is spent
If the unheard, unspoken
Word is unspoken, unheard;
Still is the unspoken word, the Word unheard,
The Word without a word, the Word within
The world and for the world;
And the light shone in darkness and
Against the Word the unstilled world still whirled
About the centre of the silent Word.
O my people, what have I done unto thee.
Where shall the word be found, where will the word
Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence
Not on the sea or on the islands, not
On the mainland, in the desert or the rain land,
For those who walk in darkness
Both in the day time and in the night time
The right time and the right place are not here
No place of grace for those who avoid the face
No time to rejoice for those who walk among noise and deny the voice…
T.S. Eliot, Ash Wednesday
Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
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Fantastic. Thank you.
I love this poem and I resonate with what you have written. Eugene Peterson writes that the two temptations of clergy are to be managers or messiahs. The manager immediately wants to put people to work while the messiah wants to save them. Instead he says we are to help them pay attention to what God is doing in their lives.
Great post, and very true.
Thank you — as the daughter of a pastor and a ardent fan and devoted reader of both your blog and Mary Oliver, I appreciate the heart and wisdom behind this post.
Thank you so much for this post Maggi. So rarely do clergy speak about how tough it is not only doing the job but also being the job. Some years ago friends of mine in the United Reformed Church wrote a book called Daughters of Dissent about the first women ordained to the word and sacrament in Britain.
What I found disturbing but also heartening in many ways is that their journeys were far from easy and straightforward.
Ministry is not some individual great success story it’s a joyful and painful path and it’s also pretty visceral.
thank you for being honest about how tough it is – in and out of parish work it ain’t easy, we aren’t perfect but it has its moments.
Ah yes and I loved your post about London too – I’m taking the train there tomorrow – first time in over a year and I’m looking forwards to the big smoke and the journey.
I guess the reason clergy don’t speak of it is to avoid sounding unwelcoming, or unwilling: ministry only works if people know they can come and find you when they need help. The insidious bit is when you start to think it’s YOU they need, or that no-one else will do – in other words, the problem is not the people but yourself. But sometimes I think that never saying these things compounds the difficulty, making ministers (and I don’t mean professionals, just people who do minister) seem invincible and super-human, when we are not.
#”People all over start to depend uopn you for far more than you’re able to give, and you can start to believe that what they need is you”.
Wise words Maggi, and timely for me to read tonight. Yesterday I decided that, Christmas season or not, I really need a week off next week to preserve my sanity and to seek the awareness I need that it’s God’s load to carry not mine.