Ever since last January, when my life began zig-zagging into retirement, an “Alex” Parson Ponders has been jumbling around in my head. I’m sure I would have slept better some nights if I would have just gotten up and committed it to paper so that my mind could come to rest. But I didn’t.
The words might still be careening in my cranium, like an endless game of pong, had not Pastor Corsi offered a gracious invitation to me: “People tell me they enjoyed your Parson Ponders. If you enjoy writing them, how about writing some more for the newsletter?”
Well, how do you turn down an invitation like that?! So, here’s an offering, and we’ll see if the Spirit moves and pushes towards a few more somewhere down the road.
I liked Alex from the very first time I met him. His brother Andrew is a pretty cool guy too. Mom and dad, Shauna and Jamie? They’re tops. And when little Anna came along, I could see that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
But Alex had a way of standing out, and then working his way into your heart. I would say that when I met him, he was about one third ornery, one third bright and engaging, and one third pure, unadulterated joy.
He always wanted to sit next to me at Children’s Sermon time. He always wanted to answer the questions, and sometimes he didn’t want to go back to his seat. One time he tried hiding from his mom behind the altar rather than returning to his pew, and another time, he decided he would just sit on the front step for the rest of the service. I think I may also have a few extra knots in my cincture thanks to Alex fiddling with my rope while I was talking to the kids.
But ornery or not, you had to love him! Always smiling, always full of joy and wonder, always ready to engage. He always made me smile.
A couple of Sundays before I retired, Alex said. “Is it really true that you’re not going to be our pastor anymore?” “Yes, I said, “that’s right.”
Alex seemed to have worked through this and was ready with his next question: “Well, then, when you come back to visit us, will you sit next to me?”
Ahhh!! That Alex! He’s a resurrection kind of guy. He’s already discovered that change is inevitable, and rather than feeling bad and wanting to keep things the same, it's better --it's Jesus like – to look for the new opportunities that come with the change. Hey, if the pastor isn’t going to sit in the big chair up front, then he can sit anywhere in the church! Maybe he could sit next to me.
The disciples, both before and after the resurrection, wanted to freeze time: build a booth on the mountain after the transfiguration, keep Jesus from all harm and with them at all cost, cling to him after the resurrection. But always, he embraced the change, and pointed them to the new wonderful things that lay ahead.
Thank you, Alex. You helped me see things the way God sees them.
Maybe now, you have even helped the people you see every Sunday to think about the good side, the Jesus side, of change. I’ll bet you’re already finding that God has sent a very special person to St. Michael’s named Pastor Corsi. There will be lots of good times and learning with him.
So dear Alex, try not to tie knots in Pastor Corsi’s cincture. And yes, my friend, you can be sure that Martha and I will come and worship at your church soon, and if there’s a seat, and you still want me to sit next to you, I would consider it an honor!
