December 28, 2006

“The 53rd Sunday”

By a quirk of the calendar which happens every few years, this Sunday is the 53rd Sunday of the year. That is probably a good thing for most churches, because it means one extra Sunday offering to help meet the 2006 budgets. Otherwise not many people really notice when a 53rd Sunday occurs.

What will you do with this 53rd Sunday? For that matter, what would you do with any extra time? We all talk about being short of time, having too many things to accomplish in the time allowed, having full calendars, and not having enough time to do the things we say we want to do. A “busy schedule” is the latest way that most people seem to prove their worth and their value to the world. It isn’t considered good taste to brag about being wealthy, but it is apparently socially acceptable to brag about being busy. I was with a group of bishops recently where we tried to find a future meeting date, and we all pulled out our PDAs or Treos or Blackberries. It was as if having a busy and organized calendar was proof that we are doing a good job as bishops. Mea culpa, I am guilty of having a too-busy schedule at times, and I certainly rely upon my gadgets to keep it all organized.

The truth is that we all have many requests and expectations to deal with, but the deeper truth is that being busy is a CHOICE we make. We are busy because we want to be busy.

Perhaps our being busy is a cover for something else in our lives. Perhaps being busy is a part of our effort to feel valuable. Perhaps our being busy is a way of filling the minutes, hours, and days of our lives with our frantic efforts. Perhaps we stay busy with our stuff, so that we can avoid time to be with God and to ask God, “What would you have me do with my time?”

One of the new quotes I have added into my Treo (yes it is not just a calendar but also a place to keep Memos with quotes and ideas) is from John Wooden, famed basketball coach, who said, “Never confuse activity with achievement.” We can fill our lives with activity and never really achieve the things we hope or the things that God desires.

So, what will you do with your 53rd Sunday this year? What will you do with the new year 2007? Perhaps part of our time can be given to being quiet, to listen, and to ask God for guidance about the achievements which really make a difference.

from Bishop Michael J. Coyner

Indiana Area of the United Methodist Church
"Making a Difference ... in Indiana
and around the world"

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