PASTORAL REFLECTIONS (NOVEMBER)
Dear Good Shepherd:
Some people will do anything. But this was surely the most lucrative used-car
deal in history. It happened in 2005. A German man sold his 1999 Volkswagen
Golf with 47000 miles on it. He had paid just over $10,000 for the car. He sold
it on eBay for a quarter of a million dollars – to an American.
Why would anybody pay a quarter of a million dollars for a used Volkswagen
Golf, parked half way across the world? The car itself was nothing special. It
had everything to do with the papers that went along with it. The young man who
had purchased the car realized, as he did a title search, that the former owner
had just left
Was it celebrity status that drove the price up so high? People will pay all
kinds of crazy prices for Elvis’s rhinestone belt or Marilyn Monroe’s dress. Or
is it something different – something to do, perhaps, with a perception that
this car, this used Volkswagen Golf, was “holy” by association.
Pondering this concept of “holiness” and never having regarded myself as
‘holy,’ I wondered recently whether we’ve missed out on what the word means. Is
it limited to pious actions or lugging a Bible with me everywhere I go or
having perfect church attendance? In his collective ‘Sermon on the Mount’ in
Matthew’s gospel, Jesus instructs his hearers to be ‘perfect.’ I’m pretty
convinced he wasn’t talking about never making a mistake or even never falling
into sin – but ‘perfect’ as in ‘completeness’ – that is, being fully present.
He could have used the word ‘holy’ To be holy is to be
completely present wherever you are – not inattentive, not distracted, not with
misguided attitudes. My faith calls that kind of holiness out of me – the
capacity to live in every moment with a focus rooted in thoughtfulness,
kindness, justice, mercy, generosity and care. When we are holy (complete), we
have God’s imprint upon us, God’s image revealed in us.
How different that is from holiness by association - like owning the pope’s old
car. We often sell ourselves short, yet to discover just how rich we are in
God’s having created us.
Seeking holiness (completeness) with you,
Pastor Ron